Only When You're Close
by Secksbecks
Summary: Laying in Sebastian's arms was the woman whom he had loved since he was little. The woman who he had planned on marrying. The woman, who until just a few seconds ago, he believed he would never see again. How will her return affect Bash, and everyone around her? What will her arrival bring with her? (Sebastian/OC)
1. Chapter 1

**So it's been almost a year since I first posted this and I can't believe how much everyone has loved it. I never thought it would go this far or so many people would enjoy it. It makes me ecstatic to see all the reviews, follows, favorites, everything. Every time I see one, I feel terrible knowing that I haven't written in so long. This story is not going to be abandoned. Instead, I'm in the process or revising it. Making it a little better, adding more details and basically going through it again so I can continue it and post new chapters soon. Thank you to everyone who has read it and ****who will read it. It means so much to me. You guys are amazing. **

The castle was finally in view after what seemed like hours and hours of riding and now, it was getting closer and closer with each passing second. Yet, it still seemed so far away as the wind was whipping all around, chilling everything it touched. The only sound that could be heard in the night was the sound of hooves pounding against the ground and the rider's heavy breathing.

Arianna Kurt, the Princess of Hungary, was riding as fast as she could to French Court, seeing the outline of the castle just off the horizon. Letting out a sigh a relief, she remembered how she stayed her when she was little only returning to her own country few times. She had promised she would return, but she did not think it would be under such devastating circumstances. When Arianna made the promise, it was out of hope and love, but she had never fulfilled that promise. Pushing her horse faster, she wondering if she would be able to fulfill it while running from her past.

As Arianna rode on, the stars started to fade while the moon started to fall further into the sky as the sun was beginning its ascension to take it's place. The sun had just rose over the horizon when she arrived at the main gates. The guards quickly got into fighting position, unsure of who would be riding up at this early hour, but upon seeing who it was, the guards let Arianna pass, each one of them shocked by the presence of the princess. Riding all the way up to the doors, the guards stationed there spotted Arianna immediately and went to help her off her horse. Once down, Arianna pushed them aside, noticing how nothing seemed to have changed here. As it was still so early in the morning, the halls were clear of the people in the castle, except for the one person Arianna was most anxious to see. Frozen in the middle of the hallway, their eyes locked before his eyes practically bulged out of his head and his expression wore the one of someone who had just seen a ghost. _So he heard. _

Arianna saw him whisper her name before he started his way towards her at a quicker pace. Finally able to remember how to use her feet correctly, Arianna began walking again until there were only a few steps in between them. Before Arianna made it into his arms, the exhaustion started to claim her body as the lack of sleep and proper nutrition were starting to make her feel unsteady of her feet. As her world started to darken and blur, Arianna reached out for him, hoping that with the last of strength, she made it into his arms.

"Sebastian!" she exclaimed, feeling his arms catch her before she hit the ground.

Arianna heard him calling her name, trying to get her to wake, but she just couldn't stay conscious for any longer. His arms made her feel safe and now that she was in them, she could finally rest after the days she had been travelling. She knew that he had to be confused, judging by his look, and everyone else's face when they saw her. They had all heard about what happened, heard that she was presumed dead.

Arianna tried to open her eyes to say something, anything, to make everything better but when she tried to speak, nothing came out. Her eyes fluttered open for a moment before they closed again. Arianna was trying to fight the sleep that was consuming her to explain yet, lying in the arms of the man whom she had loved since she was little, she couldn't do it.

"Bash…" Arianna said, barely above a whisper.

Sebastian looked down at the young woman that was now unconscious in his arms. The same woman who he had planned on marrying and the woman, who until just a few seconds ago, he believed he would never see again. When he realized who it was standing in the hallway, he thought for a moment he was hallucinating, blinking a few times to see if she disappeared. Staring down at Arianna, Sebastian held her closer to his chest before scooping her up and taking her Nostradamus. Even in her unconscious state, she leaned in closer to him and he couldn't help but smile just a little at having her so near again.

Sebastian looked down as he continued his path, seeing how ill Arianna looked and with a sigh, he hoped that she would live to see morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the newly edited chapter 2. I know the changes aren't that big but it's just little things to add more to the story and the more I go into it, the more the changes will be prominent. Enjoy.(:**

Bash quickly carried Arianna to Nostradamus, hoping that he could help whatever was causing her to look this ill, this fragile. As he was holding her tightly in his arms, he was still in a state of shock. It had only been a few days prior when he received a letter that read the king of Hungary and his entire family had been killed in a fire that set their entire castle ablaze. All the rooms were burned to nothing but ashes, and even though no bodies were found, it was said since the fire was started in the middle of the night, everyone that was in the castle was pronounced dead. Bash was devastated when he heard the news of Arianna's death, constantly drinking and not caring about anything. However, due to the soon arrival of Mary Queen of Scots, no one seemed to notice the severe change in Bash's behavior.

Bash was finally snapped out of his thoughts when the guards that escorted him to the seer's chambers knocked on the door so loud it could've woken the dead, but Arianna was still out cold in Bash's arms. As it seemed Nostradamus was taking his time to answer the door, the guards knocked again, more viciously.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Nostradamus's voice came from behind the door. "What is it that you have to come and wake me so early?"

Upon opening the door, Nostradamus had a sleepy and upset look one his face but with one look at the girl in Bash's arms, he opened his door wider ushering Bash inside. . The guards waited outside, upon Bash's request, making sure no one disturbed them. Nostradamus quickly motioned for Bash to lay her on the cot that was in the middle of the empty white chambers of the seer. Bash moved to settle Arianna onto the bed, being extra careful with her afraid that if he moved incorrectly, she'd disappear. Once he had fully let go and moved a few steps back, the seer immediately bombarded him with questions.

"What is wrong with her?" Nostradamus asked.

"I don't know." Bash responded, having no idea why she collapsed or why she was here. "She just showed up here on horseback and collapsed only moments after she dismounted."

"Where did she ride from?" Nostradamus asked, again.

"I don't know." came the same response from Bash.

"How long was she riding for?" Nostradamus fired off again.

Sighing, Bash began to pace next to the cot Arianna was in. "I do not know!"

"Well then what do you know?" Nostradamus asked, getting a little agitated being woken up to take care of someone he doesn't know how to take care of.

"I don't know. I told you as much as I know. She arrived, then collapsed. That's all I really know." Bash replied, getting irritated as well.

"Well then my best guess is she was just over exhausted, it's best we let her sleep in peace for now, but I will look her over to make sure there is nothing else that ails her. Sebastian, who is this girl?" Nostradamus had now turned to Bash, seeing how worried and upset he looked.

"Nostradamus, do you remember the girl who stayed here for a long time? The girl that Francis and I used to play with? The one that I…" Bash trailed off mid-sentence, unable to finish, and looked over at Arianna.

A look of recognition flashed across Nostradamus's face. He, too, had heard the news of her death. Everyone in the castle had heard the news of her death.

"How is that possible? She's supposed to be—"

"Dead, believe me I know." Bash said, cutting off Nostradamus. "I don't know how but I plan on asking as soon as she wakes up."

Stopping his pace, Bash kneeled down beside Arianna's cot, watching her breath as she slept before he grasped her hand in both of his. Hanging his head low, Bash had no idea what to do with everything that had happened in the last few hours. Nostradamus turned to tell Bash to leave but when he saw how vulnerable he looked, Nostradamus decided it was best to just leave the bastard son with the woman he loved.

Bash just stared at Arianna, seeing how she had changed and how she hadn't. She still had her long and dark wavy hair, her skin, even though it felt like ice now, still had the slight sun kissed glow about it. He took her entire body in and noticed how incredibly thin she looked. Well, she was always naturally slender with those womanly curves, but now, she looked almost as if she hadn't eaten in days. Bash turned his attention back to her face and noticed the dark circles that were under her eyes. Taking one of his hands, he lightly traced the circle under her right eye. When his fingers made contact with her skin, she instinctively turned into his touch. He smiled slightly thinking to himself that even unconscious, she knew it was he.

"Arianna, how are you alive?


	3. Chapter 3

**The changes in this one are very noticeable, and the chapter is much longer now. Nevertheless! I hope that everyone enjoys it. Let me know what you think of the changes and if you're just starting to read this story, let me know what you think in general! All the feedback is fantastic and I love it. Thank you to everyone who reads this. **

Bash continued to stay next Arianna for hours, yet there was no change in her state. Not once did she ever wake or even stir in her sleep. If he didn't see her alive himself, he would certainly think she was dead. Nostradamus came in and checked on her from time to time, making sure she was still breathing and that she had warmed up as she her skin felt like ice from the cold when she first arrived. All the while, Bash had never left her side. Nostradamus had told Bash that it might be better for him to leave, but he had just grunted and stayed right where he was, right by her side, like he knew he was meant to be.

_"__Why can't I move? My body feels so heavy. And warm." _Arianna thought. Eyes unable to open, Arianna tried to feel about for her surroundings. Coming to the conclusion that she was in some sort of makeshift bed, Arianna hadn't remembered how exactly she got in it but she didn't really care. Her body had felt so heavy but laying here she didn't feel that way anymore, and for the first time in days she no longer felt cold. After riding for so long, terrified for her own life, she finally felt at peace. She started to drift off to sleep again when flashes of the memories started coming back to her. The blood everywhere, her dead parents, her injured brother, everything that she had been desperately trying to push out of her mind. She started tossing in her half-asleep state, waking up Bash, who had fallen asleep with his head on her cot. She tried to think about something else, anything else, but she couldn't make them go away or stop. The harder she tried to force the memories back, the more she started thrashing about in her bed.

Once Bash was fully awake and now aware of what was happening, he tried to help Arianna but he didn't know what to do to make her stop. He tried soothing her but she wouldn't stop tossing and turning in her sleep. Nostradamus had now emerged upon hearing all of the commotion that was taking place outside of his room.

"What is all that noise?" he demanded, but then seeing Bash struggle to keep Arianna still, he ran over to try to help. "What is going on?"

"I don't know. She was sleeping and then all the sudden she was jerking about wildly. I've been trying to sooth and stop her but nothing it working." Bash replied, looking quickly from Nostradamus to Arianna.

"The sleeping potion I gave her must've worn off. Oh, don't look at me like that. You can clearly see the dark circles under her eyes. She needed sleep and this was the only way she could get it! You asked me to take care of her and that's what I did." Nostradamus said all the while Bash was giving him a dirty look, upset that he had given her something without him knowing.

Arianna's shot straight up, eyes were wide and she had a look of pure fear on her face. Her breathing was coming out so quickly that Bash was afraid that she was going to hyperventilate. What frightened him the most was the look on her face. The look of absolute terror was one that he had never seen in all the years he had known her, and that scared him. Without a second thought, Bash pulled Arianna into his chest, wrapping his arms around her as he held onto her for dear life. Arianna leaned into his chest, hands gripping his shirt as she was shaking fiercely.

"Shh, shh. It's okay. I'm right here, nothing is going to hurt you." Bash whispered to her.

All she could do was nod in agreement but she couldn't stop shaking. Bash gently rubbed her back as he watched Nostradamus go over to his cabinet and grabbed two potions. Bash looked down at Arianna, finally able to see what she was wearing and noticed that her clothes were covered in blood. Eyes going wide, Bash pulled away slightly, wondering if the blood was hers or someone else's. Arianna looked up at Bash, wondering why he had pulled away and saw what he was looking at. Reaching for the blanket, Arianna lifted it up over her clothes, hoping that Bash wouldn't ask, and so she wouldn't have to look at the blood herself. Nostradamus came back over and handed the vials to Arianna, explaining that the first one to help calm her down and the other was one to help her sleep. Doing as he instructed, Arianna drank one after the other, quickly feeling the effects.

Still being in Bash's arm, Arianna leaned her head against his chest. He felt that her shaking had stopped and he could see her eyes were starting to feel heavy. Each time she blinked, her eyes stayed closed for a few seconds longer. She didn't want to go back to sleep just yet though. She didn't want to relive all the horrible things that happened but, she felt at ease when listening to Bash's heartbeat. She heard the two men above her talking about something however she could only make out a few words. The words she did make out were something about how Bash needed to leave in order to rest and to make sure Arianna rested. Immediately, panic set in at the thought of him leaving and Arianna grasped onto his shirt even tighter.

"Bash, please don't leave. Stay with me." She whispered, her voice not able to get any louder. "Just until I fall back asleep. Please?"

Holding her closer to his chest, Bash nodded into her hair. After hearing the need and fear of him leaving in her voice, he couldn't possibly leave her alone. Arianna relaxed a little, releasing the hold she had on him, smiled slightly, mumbling a thank you, before she let the darkness take over and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

"Sebastian, you need to get some rest and get cleaned up. You'll be of no use to her if you cannot stay awake yourself." Nostradamus insisted.

"I know. I just want to make sure she is okay." Bash threw back, not enjoying being told what to do by Nostradamus.

Carefully, so he did not wake her, Bash laid Arianna down in the cot once he knew she was deeply asleep. As he moved to sit back up, Arianna's hand reached out ever so slightly for Bash. Instinctively, he grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb over the back. Nostradamus sucked in a breath, causing Bash to look up at the seer.

"Sebastian, why is there blood on your shirt?" Nostradamus asked, concern growing by the second.

Confused, Bash looked down only to see that there was a slight stain of deep red across the torso of his shirt. Eyes flickering over to Arianna, Bash saw that the blanket she had been clutching had a small flash of the same red as well. Nostradamus noticed this as well and quickly rounded the cot. Throwing the blanket back, Nostradamus tried his best to locate where the bleeding was coming from but there was too much blood covering Arianna's clothes. Seeing that Nostradamus was having a problem, Bash grazed his fingers along Arianna's side until he felt the warm and wet liquid.

"There. It's coming from there." Bash indicated, pulling his hand back, staring at the fingers that made contact. How could he not have noticed she was bleeding, that she was injured?

Hurriedly, Nostradamus went cut the spot of her dress where the injury should be, not wanting to indecently expose the princess, only to find the fabric there was already torn. Pushing the cut fabric a little, Nostradamus saw the beginning of her wound. Bash saw it as well but could not tell where it ended or began from where the fabric kept sticking to her skin. Needing to see the entire wound, Nostradamus began to tear open Arianna's dress to show almost her whole side, from her ribcage down to her hip, to reveal what looked to be a deep slice into her skin about a foot long.

"It looks as if this happened quite a while ago but it has not been healing correctly. I'm assuming that the thrashing about she did before she awoke is what caused her wound to reopen." Nostradamus stated, moving to get the proper materials he needed to heal her. "Here," he handed Bash a wet wash cloth, "use this to try and remove some of the blood while I get everything I need to properly clean the wound."

Bash did as he was asked, lightly brushing the cloth over Arianna's side, seeing that the majority of the blood on her skin was not fresh. Sighing in relief, he finished clearing her side of the blood only to see how bright and flushed the skin around the slice was. He hoped that her wound was not infected. Bash was not that in her current state she'd be able to fight off infection.

"Sebastian," Nostradamus started, "I know that this is asking a lot of you but I will need my space to work and you do need your rest. You will be of no use to the princess if you are falling over from exhaustion as well."

Bash started to argue but knew that Nostradamus had a point and he knew nothing of healing so even if he stayed, he'd be of no use. "If anything happens bad happens to her, I will hurt you."

"I know. I will do everything in my power to make sure she is healthy, your grace." Nostradamus replied.

All Bash did was nod, looking at Arianna again, before leaving her alone with the seer. He did need to get some rest himself, but he also needed to go speak with his father about this. She was alive and they needed to make sure that everyone knew, that the letters going out about her being dead were stopped. After all of this, though, he would come back and get the answers he needed.


	4. Chapter 4

**A thanks to everyone who has read, followed, reviewed, and favorited. It makes me very happy to know that you all like it! So here it is, chapter 4. **

**I own only Arianna, and that is all. **

It was midafternoon by the time Arianna woke up again, only this time it was not as violent. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around, unable to find Bash or anyone for that matter. Letting out a sigh, she slowly sat up, stretching her sore muscles. She couldn't believe that she had actually made it here. The entire ride she was certain that something would happen, that she would not make it back. Make it back to _him. _She looked down at her chest, seeing the chain that held the ring on it. Pulling it out, she started playing with the beautiful ring, lost in her own thoughts. She was so lost in them, in fact, that she did not hear Nostradamus come into the room until he cleared his throat.

Arianna jumped, being startled by his sudden presence, quickly dropping the ring back into her dress.

"I didn't mean to startle you, my lady. I was just bringing you some water and wondering if you needed anything." Nostradamus said kindly.

"Thank you for the water. I think that's all I'll need for now. However, I do have a question." Arianna said, taking the water from him and quickly downing the whole glass before asking her question.

Nostradamus simply watched her, raising his eyebrows signaling her to continue as he poured her some more water.

"Thank you, again. I was just wondering when I could leave this room. I know I haven't been here long but I do need to talk to certain people." She stated squaring her shoulders as if to show that she was all better.

Nostradamus just gave her a look, and she could tell by that look that he knew. She folded immediately, dropping her strong façade. If he knew, that meant that everyone in the castle knew. That Bash knew, as well. She had tried to beat the letter that she knew would have been sent out about her family's death.

"You may leave soon, my lady. I just want to make sure that you are okay before I let you leave. If I may ask, how are you here?" Nostradamus asked confused on how this girl was sitting here in front of him.

Arianna opened her mouth to answer, but as soon as she did, Sebastian took this opportunity to walk into the room.

"Please, Arianna, answer the question. I would like to know as well." He said making his way back over to the chair he had inhabited since he brought her in here. She looked so sad at that moment, so broken. All Bash wanted to do was take her in his arms and destroy anything that made her feel that way, but he couldn't. Not after everything. Not yet.

Arianna took a deep breath before answering. "I do not wish to tell the whole thing as of yet, but during the fire, I was awake and I couldn't save my parents, but I did manage to save my little brother. Unfortunately, he was badly burned so I took him to the healer in Vienna, and then I came straight here. I did not know where else to go."

During this, her hands were shaking profusely, and she was looking down at them. She was trying her hardest to be strong, but talking about what happened broke that. If she didn't discuss it, if she just stayed quiet, then she could act as if she was okay.

Bash went to say something but the doors immediately opened, revealing Henry, the king of France. As soon as Arianna made eye contact with Henry, his eyes got so wide she thought that it must be hurting his head.

"So it is true, then. You live. When Sebastian came and told me, I thought he was delusional. But here you are. Alive and well." Henry commented, coming closer to where Arianna was sitting up in the cot.

All she could do was merely nod, not wanting to have to relay what happened again. She looked over at Bash and he seemed to understand, telling his father what she had just said only moments ago.

"Well then, I guess we shall send out letters to announce that you have come back from the dead, so to speak." Henry said, chuckling at his own joke. "When you leave here, you will be shown to the room in which you stayed in before when you were here. Bash, do not let this make you miss the arrival of Mary."

Arianna merely nodded again, saying a quiet thank you as Henry left, as did Nostradamus, leaving them alone again.

"I can't believe you're really here. When I received that letter…" Bash trailed off, looking towards the ground.

Arianna looked at him, and for the first time, she noticed how badly he looked. She saw the circles under his eyes; his beard had grown out longer than she had ever seen it. Most of all though, she saw the sadness that was held in his eyes. The pain and anguish that was hidden in there. She hated that he felt that way. All she wanted to do was take that away. However, she could not. Not after what had happened. She couldn't risk losing him like she lost her family. Losing him would squash what little sanity she had left. She didn't quite know what to say so instead of speaking, she just stayed quiet, looking down at her hands.

Bash looked back over at her, making sure she that she hadn't disappeared since she had made no noise. Feeling his gaze, she looked up, holding eye contact. It seemed like she was about to say something but Nostradamus picked this moment to remind them he was still in the room.

"Arianna, are you hungry? I have sent for some food to be brought up to you, and as soon as you eat and feel as if you have the strength, you may leave here." Nostradamus stated.

Arianna's eyes lit up at this statement. Even thought she hadn't been in this room long, she couldn't stand the blandness of it, nor could she stand being confined.

"I am feeling much better, Nostradamus. Thank you very much for all you've done." Arianna said, truly grateful for the man's help.

"It is not a problem, my lady. The food should be here at any moment and then you are free to leave. If you feel bad in any way though, please come back and see me. Now if you'll excuse me." Nostradamus nodded, leaving the two alone, yet again.

Not even a moment later, a servant came in with the food and water for Arianna. Setting it down on the small table next to her, the servant bowed and exited the room. Arianna drank the water, but she eyed the food with apprehension. It had been quite a while since she had really eaten anything.

While she was riding, she tried not to stop very often. She would eat only what was necessary and sleep when she could no longer go on. She did not want to someone to catch her, did not want someone to recognize her and drag her back to Hungary. The only goal she had was to reach French Court. Other than that, she hadn't really thought anything through.

"Arianna, you need to eat something." Bash said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I know, it's just, I'm not all that hungry." was all her reply was.

Bash walked over to her kneeling down beside her cot. He took a slice of bread and broke a small piece off, putting it into her hands.

"Please eat something. I see how thin you've become you need to eat. Plus, you heard Nostradamus. Once you eat, you may leave. Don't you want to be in your room again?" Bash said, trying to help.

She gave him a small smile, nodding. Slowly, she started eating the piece of bread he had given her, but as soon as she took that first bite, she realized how hungry she really was. Quickly, she devoured the piece and ate the rest of the bread that was on the plate.

Bash laughed, seeing how fast she had gone from saying she wasn't hungry to inhaling the bread. She noticed his laughter and covered her mouth with her hands, trying to act a little more ladylike. Though, he did see a small smile appear and that made him so ecstatic.

"There, isn't that better?" he asking. All she could do was nod again, her mouth still full of bread. "Now, let's take you to that room of yours, shall we?"

Arianna smiled again, taking the arm he had offered to her. She had stood up too quickly and swayed a little but Bash steadied her against his side immediately.

"I got you, don't worry." Bash reassured, steadying her. She leaned into his embrace, not wanting to stumble again. Instinctively, he rested his head atop of hers, kissing the top of it. He had told himself that he would get answers before he would jump back into anything with her but he couldn't help it. They fit together, and it was as if she had never left his side.

Feeling the kiss, Arianna turned up and looked at him, but Bash couldn't place what emotion was on her face. Was she upset that he had done that? He couldn't really tell and her stare was starting to make him nervous. Clearing his throat, he pushed opened the door and lead her to her room.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so thankful to everyone that has read, reviewed, followed, favorite, all of it! I never thought so many people would read and enjoy my story. I'm so glad that you enjoy it. Even if you don't, tell me what you don't like and I'll try and make it better! Thank you again. So here's ****chapter 5. **

**Reign is not mine, and neither is Bash, sadly. Just Arianna. **

When they reached Arianna's room, Bash opened the door for her, watching her face light up at the sight. She couldn't believe it. The room hadn't changed one bit since she'd been gone. It was decorated in the same deep purple color that she loved, lined with some greens here and there. The stacks of books that she had planned on reading were still on one of the small tables. As she looked around, she noticed that the little she had brought with her had been moved up here.

"Nothing's changed. It looks exactly the same as when I left. Almost as if I never did." She said aloud, moving away from Bash and into the middle of the room.

"I made sure that it was kept exactly as you left it. So when you came back…" Bash trailed off, just staring at Arianna.

Frowning, she turned to face him. It wasn't as if she had planned on not coming back. She had every intention of returning here, returning to him. Things had just gotten complicated. Now, here he was, the man she loved standing in front of her, and she was scared to show him how much she still cared. What if he got hurt? What if he ended up like her family because she was being selfish? What if?

"Bash…" Arianna started but he cut her off by shaking his head.

"It's alright, Aria. There is no need to discuss these things now. The good thing is that you are safe and well. I shall leave you to rest some more now. I need to go get ready for the Queen of Scotland's arrival anyways. If you need anything, please come find me. Okay?" Bash said, still standing in the doorway.

She smiled at him, noticing that was the first time he's called her by her nickname that he had given when they were just children. Nodding her head, she watched him walk out of her room, leaving her truly alone for the first time. Slowly, she walked over to her bed to sit in the middle of it. Her mind was racing with everything that had happened to her recently. She wasn't sure how to feel, how to react to anything. So she just sat on the bed, staring blankly at the wall in front of her.

Soon, she had heard some commotion going on outside. Getting up and moving toward the window, she saw the Queen Mary and her ladies were arriving. Staring out at the scene, she saw everyone standing outside waiting to greet them. She saw Bash standing out there with his mother and father. She allowed herself to stare at him a little longer before turning away from the window. This reminded her of when she first arrived here; she had been only 7 at the time. Mary was even here then. They had played together briefly before she was sent off to the convent. After that, it only left her, Sebastian and Francis. She still remembers the first time she felt something for Bash.

_It was storming terribly; thunder was echoing throughout the castle every few minutes with lightning illuminating the sky in-between the claps of thunder. Arianna was lying in her bed, trying her hardest to sleep but could not. Every time the thunder sounded, she would jump with a start, yelping with fear. As hard as she tried, she couldn't get to sleep, too frightened to even try. Times like this are when she missed her parents the most. She knew that being in France was for her safety as well as being good for Hungary and the alliance with King Henry but she missed home. Slowly and quietly, she crawled out of her bed, sneaking into the hallway. Being just after bedtime, she was surprised that so little people were still wandering around. _

_Coming down the hallway, she passed Francis's door and put her ear up against it to listen. She could distinctly hear him snoring away in there so she continued her journey. She was just reached Diane and Bash's chambers when a loud burst of thunder rang out, causing her to scream and hide in the nearest corner. Knees pulled up to her chest and shaking heavily, she started to silently cry in the corner. _

_"Who's out there?" she heard Bash say, coming part way through the door. _

_She went to say something but another round of thunder and lightning came and she screamed again, burying her face deeper into her knees. _

_"Aria?" Bash called out, having spotted her when the lightning lit up the hallway. Quickly, Bash ran over to Arianna's corner, kneeling down to her level. "It's alright, Aria. I'm here. Nothing is going to hurt you." _

_They had always teased each other before, playing as kids normally do, but deep down, she considered him her best friend. Both him and Francis, knowing that they would do anything for her. He held out his hand for her to take and she did as they stood up. That's when she heard Diane's voice coming from the doorway now. _

_"Sebastian? What are you doing out of bed?" Diane asked, coming into the hallway and now seeing both of them. _

_"Mother, I found Aria out here like this. I think the storm is scaring her." Bash replied all while Arianna was just nodding away, trying not to jump at every sound the storm caused. _

_"I was scared and missing my parents. I do not wish to be alone…" Arianna said, looking up at Diane. _

_Diane pursed her lips before taking Arianna into her side and leading her into their chambers. She had felt bad for the little girl. Being here so young and without any family to comfort her. _

_"Come inside, dear. You may stay here but only for tonight, do you understand?" Diane said, bending down to the little girl's eye level. Arianna nodded fiercely, a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth. "Now into bed you two go." _

_Diane made sure to put some pillows between the two children just in case before heading into her own bed. Arianna was facing one way, with the pillows to her back, while Bash was doing the same on the other side. She already felt safe here, and she knew it was because she was with Bash. _

_"Bash?" she said turning to face him. She heard him turn over and look at her. "Thank you." _

_"No need to thank you. Like I said, I'm not going to let anything hurt you." Bash replied, a huge grin appearing on his face. Arianna smiled in returned before turning back over and sleeping one of the best night's sleep she had since she arrived at French court. _

Arianna smiled, remembering the memory but she was soon interrupted but giggling and talking coming outside of her room. She assumed it was Mary and her ladies, so she decided to greet them since she had not been outside to do so. Better to socialize than to sit in her room alone and wallow.

Peeking her head out of the door, she saw only part of her suspicions were true. There, right outside were Mary's ladies but without Mary.

"Hello." Arianna said, startling the girls. "I'm Arianna Kurt, Princess of Hungary." She introduced herself.

"Your Grace!" one of them said, all of them quickly curtsying. "We are Mart Stuart's ladies. I am Lola, this is Kenna, Greer, and Aylee." the one who's named turned out to be Lola said.

"No need for all the formalities and the curtsying. Please, call me Aria. It's lovely to meet you all." Arianna said, slightly laughing at how formal they were being.

"Forgive me, Your Gr—Aria, but aren't you supposed to be dead?" the one named Kenna stated.

"Kenna!" Greer and Aylee said at the same time whilst Lola just shot her a dirty look.

"No, no, it's fine. There was a terrible fire at my castle but I escaped. I came here immediately so no one knew I was still alive and word that I was dead got out before I could stop it. Hence why I'm introducing myself now instead of making an awkward skeptical of myself later. I'm sure I'll be answering this question a thousand more times anyway." Arianna said, a tone of sadness in her voice.

All four of the girls gave her a sad smile before Aylee spoke up again.

"Would you like to join us then? We're just out exploring the castle a little bit. It's been so long since we've all been here." Aylee offered with a smile.

Arianna shook her head. "No, thank you. I've been in the infirmary so I was about to call for a bath but thank you for the invitation."

"Well then, how about you come get ready with all of us for the wedding later? What girl can get ready for such a lavish affair without the help of some friends?" Lola started. "And I'm sure that we'll all be fast friends soon. Right, girls?"

All the girls nodded and smiled in agreement. Arianna, found herself smiling a real smile again. She nodded and the girls clapped and giggled, telling her that they'd come get her later to get ready. They bid a goodbye, and Arianna went back into her room.

She stood near the tub, waiting for the servants to finish filling the tub up with water. Dismissing them, she insisted that she could bathe herself, needing some time alone. Climbing into the tub, the warm water felt good on her skin, calming her nerves. She couldn't believe all that had already happened since she'd been back. She smiled at the thought of making new friends though. She hoped that Queen Mary would like her as quickly as her ladies had. It would be terrible if Francis's future bride hated her guts. She smiled to herself at the thought of having friends. She never had that many friends who were girls, even back in Hungary, and she could tell these girls were good friends, maybe a little bit mischievous. Leaning her head back, she could tell that her stay here wasn't going to be quiet one, but one filled with craziness, and adventure.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here is chapter 6! Let me know how I'm doing with this. I've already written 21 chapters so I'd like some feedback on how it's ****going! Thank you to everyone who reads this. It's grew to know that you like you. **

**Arianna is mine. That is all. **

Arianna had gotten out of her bath, standing in her dressing gown looking at the little amount of clothes she had brought that were thrown all over her bed. She knew that Mary's ladies said that they were going to help her get ready but she didn't know there was supposed to be wedding tonight and she certainly didn't have anything proper for that. Frowning at this, she sat in a chair next to the bed, contemplating what to do. Just then, there was a knock at the door, announcing that Mary's ladies were here for her. Quickly, she threw on a dressing robe and let them inside.

"Aria! Are you all prepared to get ready?" Greer asked, the rest of the girls following behind her.

Arianna frowned, looking over at the few dresses she had.

"What's wrong?" Kenna asked. She then noticed where Arianna's stare was and looked over as well. "Is this all the clothes you have?"

Arianna merely nodded, sighing heavily, falling back into her chair. "I didn't have much time to grab things, so I just grabbed what I could and left. I also didn't plan on having to attend a wedding as soon as I arrived. I thought I'd have time to get more clothes before events like this were supposed to take place! Back from the dead and I'm too look like I don't know how to dress."

"Oh, don't pout! I'm sure one of us have something for you, and if not, maybe Mary can help!" Aylee beamed.

Lola saw the confused look Arianna had on her face, "What is it, Aria?"

She frowned again before answering. "I'm just confused as to why you are all being so nice to me. I mean I'm not ungrateful for it believe me. I'm simply ecstatic about the prospect of some friends. However, you did just meet me, yet, you're being so kind. I guess I am just not used to it."

The girls circled around her, Kenna and Greer kneeling before her, while Lola and Aylee stood next to her with their hands on her shoulders.

"We know that you're having a hard time and why make it harder? Plus, we girls need to stick together here at court!" Greer said, while the rest nodded in agreement.

"Also, we do feel as if we could be best of friends! Even Mary. We told her about you, I hope you don't mind." Aylee said, sheepishly looking at the ground.

Arianna merely laughed off that last comment. "Of course it's fine! That's just one less person I have to explain everything to. Honestly, though, thank you all. You're sure that you don't mind if I borrow a dress though?"

The girls all shook their head and stood up to leave, and said that Mary should be done with her bath by now and would be expecting them soon. Arianna was following them out of her room when she realized she hadn't put her necklace back on.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, running back over to her nightstand where the ring on the chain was sitting. Picking it up, she held it in her hand for a moment before slipping on her neck. She fingered the ring for a moment before joining the other girls in the doorway and going to their room.

"Well isn't that gorgeous." Kenna stated, raising her eyebrows.

"It truly is. Where did you get that?" Greer asked, "That's not a wedding ring is it?"

"No, no. It's not a wedding ring. It was a gift from someone very close to me." Arianna replied, fiddling with the ring again.

"Someone you love, perhaps?" Aylee inquired, a smirk at her lips.

Arianna blushed, looking down at the floor, before nodding her head. She didn't technically lie. It wasn't a wedding ring, and it was from someone she loved. However, it was an engagement ring and as for the person who gave it to her, she wasn't sure if he still loved her.

"Tell us all about it!" Lola pushed, as the girls opened the door to their chambers.

"Tell you all about what?" said a voice, who Arianna assumed to be Queen Mary.

"Aria was just about to tell us who gave her that exquisite ring that is hanging around her neck." Kenna told Mary, moving to her dresses, as did all the girls.

"Pleased to meet you, Queen Mary. I am Arianna, but you can call me Aria." Arianna said, curtsying to the queen.

"And I am pleased to meet you, but please, just call me Mary and none of this curtsying nonsense." Mary said, holding her arms out as if to bring Arianna back to standing straight.

Arianna smiled at this, thinking back to what the girls had said about them getting along. "I believe we will get along quite well, Mary."

"I think we will, too. Now let's get dressed for this wedding! Aria, where is your dress?" Mary asked, noticing that Arianna's hand were empty.

"She lost a lot of her things in the fire and has nothing to where to a wedding so we all decided that we could find a dress she could borrow for tonight." Aylee said, walking over to Mary.

All the other just hummed in agreement, still looking through their dresses. Mary smiled, quickly going to a trunk and digging through some clothes.

"I believe I have the perfect one for you then! Ah ha! Here it is!" Mary said, pulling out a gorgeous dark red dress that had a few jewels on the bodice and a flowing skirt. Arianna shook her head.

"I couldn't possibly where something like that! I wouldn't want anything to happen to it. It's far too gorgeous and if I must admit, I am a bit clumsy." Arianna admitted.

"Nonsense! This dress will look perfect on you! It'll bring out the slight red in your hair and make your eyes pop! I insist you have it. Red doesn't look too great on me anyway. Consider a gift honoring our newfound friendship!" Mary said, pushing the dress into Arianna's hands.

"Now that we have found you a dress, spill about who gave you the ring!" Kenna said eagerly.

Arianna shook her head, not quite ready to talk about Sebastian, since she wasn't even sure where they stood at the moment. "I'm not ready to talk about it but as soon as I am, you girls will be the first to know."


	7. Chapter 7

**Here it is! Chapter 7. I hope you all enjoy it! Please let me know how I'm doing! It would be greatly appreciated. **

**Arianna is all that is mine even though I wish Bash was, too.(:**

At the wedding, Lola and Arianna were standing together, watching Phillip and Elizabeth dance while Aylee and Mary were making small talk with someone. She had not seen where Kenna and Greer went, though. Turning to look at Lola, Arianna could tell that she was looking for someone, but had no idea who. Just then, Greer came over to them.

"Why aren't you with Colin?" Greer asked Lola, Arianna looking towards were Lola was staring.

There stood Mary, and whom she had to now assume was Colin, talking to one another, very close. Taking another look at Lola, she looked crestfallen, seeing how close they were standing.

"What's he doing with Mary?" Greer asked, seeing the same thing they were.

"She's his queen. He's just paying his respects." Lola replied, but her tone suggested that she didn't believe that was all.

Arianna put a hand on Lola's shoulder, trying to help her feel better but she felt like she wasn't doing much. Suddenly, Mary said something to Aylee and they both made their way to the other girls.

"Lola, come dance with me. Take off your shoes. Come on! Take off your shoes!" Mary called, all of the girls taking off their shoes, moving onto the dance floor. Arianna paused, not sure if Mary wanted her to join, but Kenna grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the dance floor. Arianna quickly kicked off her shoes, holding hands with the girls, twirling around on the dance floor. She felt ridiculous but she also felt happy. She was having fun. Something that she thought she would never be able to do again.

Soon, all the other girls in the room were joining in, kicking off their shoes and dancing around like they all were. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun and that's when Arianna felt someone staring. Stopping her twirling and letting go of Kenna's hands, she looked over and saw Sebastian staring right at her with a smile on his face. Smiling back, she nodded her head and him. She also noticed that Francis was staring at Mary, and then feathers started pouring down from the ceiling and Mary suddenly seemed lost in a memory.

The girls then noticed Elizabeth and Phillip leaving and took off in that direction. Arianna, however, decided to go talk to Bash, not having talked to him since he dropped her off at her room that morning.

_"God, had that really only been this morning?" _she thought to herself.

Making her way over to Bash, he bowed to her, having his usual smirk planted on his lips.

"My lady." Bash said, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Sebastian." Arianna greeted, curtsying to him, blushing.

"I see that you have made some friends." Bash inquired.

"Yes, I met Mary's ladies earlier and they went on and on about how girls need to stick together and how great friends we'll all be soon." Arianna stated, laughing a bit.

"Well, I am truly thankful for them if they are the cause to your smile. And, might I say, you look absolutely breathtaking tonight." Bash complimented, looking at her.

Arianna blushed again, still getting used to hearing Bash's flattery again. "Why, thank you, kind sir. You look very handsome, as well. Clean up very nice." Arianna winked, their playful banter coming back to her tongue with ease.

Francis cleared his throat from next to them; neither of them noticing that he had been standing there. Shocked, Arianna looked over, and seeing who it was, embraced him in a hug.

"Francis! So good to see you." Arianna greeted, letting go of him, but he still held onto her hands.

"Aria! I'm so glad to see that you are okay. When my father made the announcement earlier, I almost couldn't believe it until Bash told me that he was the one who found you at the castle doors. I'm so happy you are safe." Francis said.

They had always had a relationship like brother and sister and both of them realized how much they truly missed the other once they started talking. Just then, Mary came into view from the hall behind them, and Francis excused himself from the two. Arianna watched them, seeing quickly that the discussion was going in a bad direction. She watched as Mary walked away from Francis, not looking too thrilled about whatever they were talking about. Arianna, however, did not notice that the entire time, Bash had been staring at her. Turning back to him and seeing his gaze, she blushed,

"Well, I guess I should be getting back to my room, then." Arianna said, seeing that there was hardly anyone left in the ballroom.

"Allow me to escort you to your room, then." Bash offered, holding out his arm for her to take.

Nodding, she looped her arm through his, and they began their walk back to her room. At first, the walk was silent but it wasn't one of those awkward silences. It was a nice, comfortable silence. Arianna could feel Bash looking at her quite often though. After a while, she couldn't take it anymore.

"What is it, Bash? I can feel you constantly looking over at me." Arianna stated, looking up at him now.

"Its just, well…" Bash didn't know how to say what he was feeling.

"Come on, spit it out."

"It's just hard for me to believe that you are really here. I keep thinking that I'm going to look over and suddenly you'll be gone." Bash said sadly. Arianna had stopped walking at this point, causing both of them to halt in the middle of the hallway.

"I'm sorry that I put you through that, Sebastian. I had tried to beat the letter here. I did, I rode as fast as could and only stopping when I needed to. I'm sorry that you had to go through that." Arianna apologized, looking down at the floor.

"Aria, look at me. The only thing I care about right now is that you are safe. That you are alive and well. The loss I felt when I heard? It is now gone now that you are here in front of me. Do you understand?" Bash said, holding her hands in his now.

"I know, but I'm still just so sor—"

"Do not apologize again. You could not control the events that happened to you. It is not your fault. Okay? But I do have a question, why did you come here instead of staying in Hungary to show everyone you were alive?" Bash questioned, as they were walking again.

Arianna stayed quiet, afraid of this. She didn't want to answer any of this. It was bad enough that she had lost her parents and her brother was in Vienna being healed. At least, she hoped he was being healed and recovering. She couldn't explain what had really happened, not yet. It would endanger everyone she cared about. Just like it did before. So lost in her thoughts, she hadn't realized that she had stayed silent for the rest of the way to her room. Stopping at the door, Bash turned her to face him, looking into her eyes, trying to find some sort of answer in them.

No longer able to take his gaze, Arianna closed her eyes and looked away. She didn't want him to see her cry but his question had unleashed all the things that she was trying not to think about. If she thought about it, it made everything feel real so she kept pushing it to the back of her mind. If she didn't, if she thought about it, it made everything so real. That's one thing her father did teach her, how to push everything back and shut off her emotions when it was necessary. He told her that's how you become a ruler, being able to shut off your emotions when the time is right to be able to make rational decisions. Arianna was sure that the small hold she had on her sanity would fade away and she'd break down completely if she couldn't hold back all the emotions. Bash instantly knew what she was doing and pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

"It's okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you. Shh, shh. It's okay, Aria. I'm here. I'm not going to let anything hurt you." Bash whispered into her hair, while her arms were wrapped around him, holding on like her life depended on it.

After a few more moments of this, Arianna had regained her composer and pulled out of Bash's arms. He, on the other hand, wouldn't let her pull completely away. Seeing a few tears still left on her cheeks, he took his thumb and wiped them away, resting his hand on her cheek. Arianna closed her eyes, leaning into his touch, and then felt his forehead leaning against hers. Opening her eyes, she saw how close they were, and she had almost forgotten how green his eyes were. The beautiful green that she had fallen in love with.

Not allowing herself to get caught up in this, she pulled away from him, and stood back at an appropriate distance. He, himself, did the same thing, clearing his throat as he did so.

"Thank you, Bash, for walking me to my room. I really appreciate it." Arianna said, hoping he picked up that she was thanking him for more than just the walk.

"It was not a problem, Aria. As I have told you, I'm here for you, no matter what. Sleep well, my lady." Bash said as he turned and walked away from her.

Going inside her room, she realized how easy it was for her to get caught up in Bash's presence again. How intoxicating he was to her. She couldn't get close until she was sure that no one was going to hurt him that no one was going to take him away like her family was taken away from her. Until then, she would keep her distance. With Bash though, that was easier said than done.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm so sorry that this update took so long. I've been planning to add new chapters every other day or every two days but I worked all day two days and then my internet was down for two days. ): Please forgive me! As I treat I may update another chapter in the morning if I get nice things.(: It'd be nice! Please and thank you! And enjoy chapter 8 of Only When You're Close. **

**Arianna is all mine, everything else belongs to CW.**

Over the next few days, Arianna kept to herself. Mostly, she was trying to make sure she didn't have any more run-ins with Bash. She saw the girls and Mary a few times but with what happened to Colin, she didn't want to be in the way or intrude on them. She had heard around the castle that today was when Prince Charles would go and meet his future bride. She couldn't believe that they already had someone lined up for him. He was only a little boy! Maybe it was because she had a little bit more freedom than most princesses did.

Looking away from her book, she faced out the window, thinking about how privileged she was, even for being a princess. When her parents had her little brother, they allowed her some freedom, having an heir that they wanted. It was nothing against Arianna; it's just more common for the next ruler to be the son. She didn't mind at all. In fact, she enjoyed having more freedom, being able to have some control over her life. Her parents had often told her that even though they may be royalty, we do have only one life. Why must we live that life in misery doing things we don't want? She missed her parents terribly, especially being here and seeing King Henry, who had become like a second father to her while she was here before.

So consumed in her thoughts, she barely heard Kenna come in.

"Aria? What are you doing still sitting here? Come on! Everyone's presence is requested in the throne room." Kenna said, grabbing Arianna from off the bed.

Arianna stood and followed Kenna down to the throne room and she was right, it seemed like everyone in the castle was in here, watching King Henry and Queen Catherine tell Charles he would be meeting his future wife.

"Let's agree it's a brilliant match. Madeline's French so there is no question of her family's loyalty. And very wealthy." Catherine started.

"But not royal, they're hungry for power." Henry countered.

"They'll pay for it!" Catherine urged on.

"It's only right to accept the support of one's loyal subjects." Henry agreed with Catherine nodding along.

Catherine gasped excitedly, turning to Charles. "And she has a giraffe! Well Madeline is widely travelled. She's come far away by ship"

"Do I get a giraffe, too?" Charles asked eagerly.

"The moment she's your bride!" Catherine answered.

"Francis," King Henry called, "To show our respect, I want you to accompany your little brother to the landing."

Charles turned around, facing Henry, Sebastian and Francis. "Can Bash come as well?" he asked with hope in his voice.

"Charlie!" Catherine demanded, "You know that Bash isn't really your brother. He's just your father's son. His presence is disrespectful." She finished, voicing her opinion.

Arianna glared at her from between Mary's ladies and Bash. She hated how lowly Catherine thought of Bash, how she couldn't see what a wonderful man he was. She noticed how hurt Bash looked at the comment and how disappointed Charles was with her answer.

"The girl's parents were enjoying Morocco so they sent her on alone." Henry explained.

"Apparently she was more afraid of meeting her future husband than of pirates. Well that's to be expected at age seven. She'll get in line, we all do." Catherine said, playing with Charles's hair but Arianna noticed the dirty look she sent Mary at the end of her statement.

"Perhaps I could go with Francis." Mary offered. "I came here too when I was a child. Perhaps I could reassure her."

"It's several hours journey." King Henry countered.

"We'll take food and treats. I don't mind really." Mary said, showing she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

On second thought, why don't we just greet the girl here?" Catherine spoke up, obviously not thrilled at the fact that Mary and Francis would be travelling together. "We don't know the journey might not be safe."

"They'll stay on the King's Road. A dozen well-armed guards will keep any bandits away. Prepare a carriage for Mary, Queen of Scotland." Henry said, walking off, obviously a little upset that a girl defeated him.

Mary, however, seemed quite pleased with herself and Arianna thought it had to do with the fact that she got to spend some time alone with Francis. Arianna was happy about this. She knew once Francis stopped being an ass that they would make a lovely couple. Maybe even fall in love.

With the meeting clearly being over, Arianna didn't want to stick around and be caught up with Bash so, still holding her book, she went outside to a spot by the lake to continue reading. It was nice outside, the sun being out and the weather warm enough. Finding a good spot on the grass, the laid down on her side, a little unlady like, but she could care less. Being only a few pages into where she left off, she noticed a presence coming towards her. She didn't need to look up to see who it was. So instead, she kept reading as if he hadn't showed up.

Bash sat down next to Arianna, just watching her read, enjoying being around her. However, he could tell that his silence was starting to unnerve her. Slowly, but surely, he noticed how the longer he sat there, the longer it took her to finish a page. Smirking, he continued to sit quietly, wondering how long it would be until she spoke.

It was the fourth time that Arianna had read the same sentence but she still couldn't comprehend what she had read. She felt how close Bash was sitting, how close he was to her. She could smell him, and even just his smell and presence was enough to distract her. Then there was the point of how quiet he was being. Obviously he had come to see her for a reason and it was starting to irritate her that he was just sitting. If he had something to talk about he should just do it so she could get on with reading. So she wouldn't have to keep pretending to ignore him when in fact, her mind was completely engrossed in him, rather than her book, she decided to make the first move.

"What?" Arianna finally asked exasperated. She had closed her book and turned to the other side to face him.

"I just came to say hello, Aria. No need to get all feisty." Bash said, a smirk on his face.

"Well we both know that's not it. Now tell me why so I can continue reading without being distracted."

"Oh, so I was distracting you? Why, Arianna, I had no idea I had such an affect on you." Bash said, leaning in closer to her.

She mentally smacked herself for revealing that piece of information. He just had her so flustered that she spoke without thinking. He had always seemed to do that, make her speak freely, whether it is from being flustered to being comfortable. It was one of those annoying affects he had on her.

"You know what I mean, Sebastian. Now, what is it you wished to speak to me about?" Arianna asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well, if you must know. I came to ask why you were avoiding me." Bash inquired, dropping his playful act and turning completely serious.

Arianna was shocked that he had noticed in just a few days. Though, Sebastian was always observant and picked up on this quickly. Especially when it came to her. She pursed her lips before answering.

"I haven't been avoiding you. I've just been busy. That's all." She lied.

"Busy with what exactly? Reading the day away?" Bash questioned, a look of hurt in his eyes seeing that she was lying to him.

Arianna was about to come up with another excuse when a guard was running in the direction of them.

"Sebastian! Your father needs you immediately. It's urgent." The guard said.

Bash nodded, getting up to leave but not before looking at Arianna. "Do not think that this discussion isn't over."

All she did was nod, watching him race away with the guard. She let out the breath she hadn't even known she was holding, falling onto her back. Staring up at the sky she realized that avoiding Bash was going to be a lot harder than she had originally.

**So? What'cha think? (:**


	9. Chapter 9

**And here it is! Chapter 9. Enjoy, review, spread it around, everything is appreciated. **

**I own nothing. Well, except Arianna and her drama. **

Later that night, there was a feast honoring Madeline's arrival. Everyone was there, including the English that had helped Madeline's ship. Arianna soon found out that's where Bash had ran off to earlier. To Mary and Francis to prevent a war from starting by accident. Since then, she had managed to avoid Bash for the rest of the day, until now. However, he was keeping his distance while they were in public.

So here she was, standing with Mary and her ladies, trying their best to enjoy the feast, even though their rivals, the English, were here. Arianna watched as Mary was making small talk with Simon, the English envoy, while she herself was trying to make small talk with Lola and Greer. Arianna's mind kept wandering to Bash though, no matter how much she scolded herself for that. Looking for him, her eyes fell on Mary and Simon, looking as if they were having a very unpleasant conversation. She was about to go over and save her when she saw that Francis had beaten her to it. Maybe he was already starting to care for her. At least, that's what Arianna hoped.

"Aria? Did you hear me?" Greer asked, snapping Arianna back into what she was doing.

"I'm sorry, what? My mind was elsewhere. What is it you said?" Arianna apologized, turning her attention back to the girls.

"I said, have you noticed that Sebastian cannot take his eyes off of you? He's been staring at you the entire time." Greer repeated, directing Arianna's gaze to where he stood.

Arianna spotted him and he, in fact, was staring at her and didn't break his gaze when all three of the girls looked at him. She blushed a bit, cursing herself for the involuntary reaction. He smirked, seeing her blush, and slowly made his way over to her.

"Look now he's coming over here! My, my, he is very handsome." Kenna said, pushing Arianna towards Bash.

"Arianna, may I have the pleasure of dancing with you?" Bash asked, bowing and holding his hand out.

Greer and Kenna giggled from behind Arianna and gave her another little push, as if telling her to accept.

"Why certainly, Sebastian. I would be delighted." Arianna said, curtsying and taking his hand. She was making sure to play up the formality of everything, not wanting to get suspicions from anyone.

A huge grin appeared on Bash's face as he took her hand, leading her out onto the dance floor. At first, they were quiet as they danced and Arianna refused to look at him directly.

"Aria, look at me. I'm still waiting for the real answer to the question I asked you this afternoon. Why did you lie to me?" Bash inquired, trying to get her to look at him.

"I did not lie, Bash. What I said is true. I have been very busy. I'm sorry if you think that I was avoiding you, but I was not." Arianna answered, still refusing to make eye contact.

"Then why won't you look me in the eyes? Please? Do I really mean that little to you now?" Bash asked with hurt in his voice.

This caused Arianna to look directly at him. "It's not like that at all."

"Then what is it?" Bash pushed, not letting her get out of this.

"It's nothing, honestly. Please, just drop it." Arianna begged, not wanting to be apart of this conversation any more.

"Fine. Thank you for the dance." Bash said, clearly upset. He let go of her, and walked away, leaving her alone on the dance floor.

Sighing, Arianna went back over to where Kenna and Greer stood, both of them having witnessed the entire thing.

"What was all that about?" Greer questioned once Arianna rejoined them.

"Oh, it was nothing. Just Sebastian getting upset that I was a better dancer than him." Arianna lied. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

Kenna gave her a look that said she didn't believe a word of that. Both of them just dropped the subject, though, when Mary walked over to them.

"Come girls. I think it is time we went and changed for bed. Don't you all agree?" Mary asked, Aylee and Lola joining their sides when Mary appeared.

They all nodded eagerly, heading in the direction of their rooms. As they got there, Arianna started to go to hers when the girls stopped her.

"Aria, come sit and talk with us a for bit, won't you?" Mary asked with a smile on her face.

Arianna smiled, too, nodding. She walked into their room, and they all started getting dressed for bed. Talking well into the night, Arianna fell asleep in their room, not caring that she wasn't in her own bed. All she cared about is that she wasn't alone.

The next morning, King Henry and Queen Catherine announced their presence outside the room. None of the girls knew why they were here to speak with them so early, but it was apparent that it wasn't going to be good.

"Colin's alive?" Mary exclaimed.

"Alive and escaped, I'm afraid." King Henry confirmed.

"He had help." Catherine said.

"Who?" Mary questioned.

"Perhaps the English." Henry offered.

"But the attack, the execution. It all took place before they arrived." Mary stated, obviously confused by this.

"They're always here, my dears." Catherine said, not with kindness though. "Spies and treachery are constant in our world. But you have our protection. The guards are out looking for Colin and he will be found." She promised.

"There's a picnic this afternoon, for Madeline and Charles." Catherine continued, obviously trying to change the subject. "But the perimeter will be guarded."

"Perhaps this is a mixed blessing." Mary started, "And I'll have a chance to speak with Colin once he's found to learn how deep the plot against my person runs. You said yourself Colin was a mere pawn."

"The informants who pointed at the English fled fearing retribution." Catherine said.

"Have they?" Henry questioned, obviously only hearing about this just now.

"All I ask of you is that you bring him back alive. I need answers. And you did regret that he was executed so quickly, not knowing my request." Mary pleaded.

"Colin is a dangerous fugitive. I cannot, we cannot possibly guarantee that he won't attack the guards and be harmed or killed." Catherine said, making it obvious that she didn't want Colin alive.

"We can promise to try." King Henry promised Mary, before they both exited.

All the girls were spinning from this new information but they didn't have long to ponder on this, having to get ready for the picnic that the queen just informed them of. Arianna put a hand on Lola's shoulder, knowing how hard it was to lose someone. Lola smiled, placing her hand atop of Arianna's before they all got up to get ready.

When they were at the picnic, they noticed that Catherine wasn't wrong. There were guards everywhere. Arianna didn't think that Colin would ever try to come back here.

"Look at all the guards. As if Colin would ever willingly return." Lola said, voicing Arianna's thoughts.

"How is Charles supposed to recognize the voice of his true love if she's so quiet?" Kenna questioned, watching the children play. "Whom's the king talking to?"

"Anyone he likes." Greer replied, "since he has no use for the queen and his mistress Diane is away."

Arianna watched Mary and Francis talk a bit, before Francis seemed to get mad and stalk away. She frowned, not liking how annoyed Francis got with Mary. She started to walk over to Mary to comfort her when Mary started making her way to Bash. Stopping mid step, Arianna stood by and watched Mary and Bash talking, rather closely. Feeling a twinge of jealously, Arianna turned around and walked towards the girls again, trying her best to enjoy the picnic.

"Aria? What is it? You look upset." Aylee asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, girls. Don't worry." Arianna replied, trying her best to put a smile on.

"Is that Mary speaking with Bash?" Lola questioned, looking behind Arianna.

"Could that be what has gotten you all in a twist?" Kenna asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You and Bash?" Aylee exclaimed.

"Shh, you lot! This could start gossip. And no, it's not because of them." Arianna said, trying to quiet the girls. "I shall tell you more sooner or later, but not now. Not here."

"Well it better be sooner than later!" Lola said laughing. The girls then decided to go on into the castle and get out of the sun.

Once inside, they all heard what had happened with Mary and went to find out if she was okay. The girls had stayed with her to make sure that no harm was to come here way. Every once in a while, one of the girls would go and try to get some information out of the guards or servants. However, they couldn't find out anything.

"I'm sorry that this is happening to you, Mary." Arianna said, walking with Mary down the hallways. It was almost dark and there were still no answers.

"It is not your fault, Aria. I just hope that Colin is found alive." Mary answered with a sigh.

Right then, Francis walked up to Mary, pulling her away to talk. Arianna saw the other girls and joined them a little ways down. They were trying not to really eavesdrop on their conversation but it was kind of hard with the way the hallways echoed. They're back and forth only sparked Arianna's attention when they mentioned Bash. Apparently, he had gone after Colin.

_"It's almost dark. Where is he?" _Arianna thought, going to look out a window. She hoped he wasn't hurt somewhere or needing help. She couldn't stand the thought of him hurt.

The girls then revealed the fact that there was no information about someone leaving her room with the dying girl, and Mary knew they must've knew used the hallways. They all parted after this, going back to their own rooms. At least, the other girls did. Arianna was contemplating going and looking for Bash. Sure, it was reckless, but it was better than sitting here worrying about him.

Making up her mind, she was off to go look for him when she spotted Mary near Catherine's door.

_"What is she doing?" _ "Mary?" Arianna called.

Mary looked up startled, but upon seeing whom it was, called Arianna over.

"What are you doing?" Arianna questioned, noticing the key in her hand.

"I was given this, and I thought it would open the door to Catherine's room. I thought she might be behind this." Mary answered, obviously confused that the key she had didn't unlock the queen's door.

Mary started to walk down the hallway a ways, before coming to a door, which they knew to be Simon's. Arianna nodded, keeping a lookout for Mary and she put the key in the door. To their surprise, it opened right up.

"It's you." Mary stated, seeing Simon inside. "But you were poisoned." Mary said, addressing the naked maid in Simon's bed.

"Her carriage back to Olean was delayed. My hope was to keep her out of sight." Simone stated, straightening his shirt.

"So you staged her poisoning to terrorize Mary." Arianna stated.

"Why would you do such a thing? To show me what you're capable of? You showed me that at the convent. England shows me that every time you attack our borders." Mary said.

"No. What you need to fear is here, at French Court. Because you're being here angers us very much. Simon said threatened.

"You threaten Mary, Simon?" Arianna questioned, getting upset that someone was trying to hurt her friend. She would not let anyone hurt someone she cared about, not again.

"It is the English who are afraid. There are rumors that your queen is ill and my cousin Elizabeth is the next in line for the throne. But many say she is illegitimate, bastard born." Mary stated, not backing down from Simon.

"And say the next rightful heir to the English throne is you." Simon said.

"But what if I don't want it. What if all I want is for England to leave Scotland in peace." Mary countered.

"Show us you're not a threat." Simon said, as if the answer were clear. "Show us you're not here to wed the next king of France for his armies."

"Armies she needs against you!" Arianna spoke up, "because obviously England won't stop this."

"Well," Simon sneered at Arianna, "we need to crush Scotland to be sure it won't rise against us."

"You'll never leave me in peace." Mary realized.

"Someone has to make the first move. Someone has to instill trust. Leave France, abandon the alliance." Simon offered.

"And trust you?" Mary asked.

"You think you can trust the French?" Simon countered. "You have powerful enemies here and you know it. Or you'd be screaming right now for the guards. Where were yours, by the way, when we went to your room?"

"She said yes to both." Mary said quietly to herself. "You have Catherine's support in this." Arianna noticed this was not a question and now realized why Mary tried Catherine's door first.

"Now wouldn't that make my life and the loss of your so much easier." Simon smirked.

They both quickly exited Simon's room after that. Mary leaned against the nearest hallway, obviously distressed about all of this.

"Mary, are you going to be all right?" Arianna asked, putting her hands on Mary's shoulders.

"I will be, Aria, once all this is over. Thank you for standing behind me then." Mary said, pulling Aria into a hug.

"It's not a problem, Mary. I'm here for you. You are, after all, my friend." Arianna said, grabbing Mary's arm and looping it with her own.

Even though she was smiling with Mary, Arianna had not forgotten the purpose of running into Mary. She hoped Sebastian was back now, and still well. As they rounded the corner, there stood Francis and Bash. Relieved and forgetting trying to ignore him, Arianna ran into his arms.

"Bash, you're alright!" Arianna exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck.

"So you're done ignoring me now I see?" Bash laughed, hugging her back tightly. Mary noticed this interaction and cleared her throat. Arianna quickly let go of Bash and saw that Francis had a serious look on his face.

"Come, let's allow them to talk." Bash said while taking Arianna's hand, no longer caring about discretion.

"Please tell me that's not your blood all over you, Bash." Arianna pleaded, seeing how dirty and blood stained his clothes were.

"No, no. Sadly, it's Colin's. I wasn't able to get to him in time." He replied grimly.

"I'm sorry, Bash. But at least you did find him." Arianna said trying to console Bash.

"Yes, I guess you are right there. Now, were you really so worried about me?" Bash inquired, turning Arianna to face him.

Arianna decided to be truthful with him. "Well, you were gone for a long time, and I had worried that something had happened to you. I was coming to find you when I ran into Mary and then I started thinking the worst had happened and I didn't know what I'd do if they were to bring your lifeless body through the doors. I couldn't take it if that happened to you, Sebastian!"

"Hey, hey. Look, I'm fine. I'm okay. I found him in the woods and it took longer than I thought to get him back. I'm sorry I made you worry." Bash said, trying to calm Arianna. "But if you feel this way, why do you ignore me so?"

"Didn't you hear me? I couldn't take it if something happened to you. I just couldn't." Arianna looked down after this.

"So you thought it'd be better to allow me to you think you hated me?" Bash questioned, hurt by her actions.

"I didn't want you to think I hated you, Bash. I just…" she started looking up to find Bash staring waiting for her to finish. "I just can't let anything happen to you because of me."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Bash asked, confused by her statements.

"Just forget it Bash, I need to get some sleep. I'll see you later." Arianna said, walking away from Bash.

He didn't bother following her. Pushing her only seemed to make her push him farther away. Instead, he just watched her walk away from him. As much as it hurt him to watch her leave, he knew that she had her reasons. He knew that she wasn't ready to tell him everything yet. Even though he would wait for her to tell him when she was ready, it didn't make any of this hurt less. Watching her walk away from him made his heart hurt. If she could ignore him, then two could play at this game. Maybe then she'd talk to him.

**I've been thinking about adding a chapter of when Arianna was here before with Bash but I'm not sure. Let me know what you think. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Here it is, chapter 10 everyone. This one has a little more back story to Bash and Arianna so I hope you enjoy that.(: **

All the girls were sitting outside by the lake, enjoying a picnic and talking when they all started taking turns answering questions.

"Alright, Kenna, it's your turn. Not your first but your best kisser." Mary asked.

Kenna got this dreamy look on her while she answered, "It was a man, not a boy."

"Who? You must tell us!" Mary demanded.

"All I'll say is that there is no point in waiting for boys our own age who have no idea what they're doing. Either find yourself a man or take care of your needs yourself." Kenna said, blushing at her last comment. They all laughed at this. "I think it's Greer's turn, isn't it?"

"My first kiss is…" Greer started, "is in the very near future. I'm not like you. My family's not titled! I can't afford even little mistakes. But I think I found a man. He's tall, dark, and noble. Tomas, son of the king of Portugal. He's hear discussing a trade deal but he's taking his time about it and I think it's because of me."

"Greer, it's dangerous to get involved with a prince." Aylee began. "They marry for alliances and your family are commoners."

"Tomas is a king's bastard, like Bash. Favored too, but with money and land. I know a true royal will never look at me. I can take care of myself." Greer said, noticing all the looks the girls were giving her. "Alright, I believe it's Aria's turn now."

Arianna blushed, remembering her kisses with Bash. "Well it was with a man, and every time, they were passionate, and intense. Like fire was igniting all over my body."

"Are you speaking of Bash?" Lola inquired.

Arianna opened her mouth to protest but Mary cut her off. "Don't even bother denying it. I saw the way you two embraced the other night and we all see the way he looks at you."

"He doesn't look at me in any certain way, I can assure you of that." Arianna said matter-of-factly.

"Oh please! We saw you two dancing! We've all seen it." Kenna said, all the girls nodding in agreement.

Arianna couldn't believe it. Had they really been that obvious with their feelings? Or were the girls just being that observant of her and Bash? Either way, she just hoped no one else noticed.

"Now give us something! You did say that you'd explain all of this later, didn't you?" Lola said, reminding her of what she said at the picnic.

"Fine! I'll tell you something but you _cannot_ let anyone know. Is that clear?" Arianna demanded. Bash and she kept their relationship a secret before, not wanting everyone to know before she asked for her parent's permission. Sure, she didn't necessarily need it, but it would be good to have it. The only people who had known of their relationship before were Francis, Henry and Diane. Everyone else seemed completely oblivious. All the girls watched her totally engrossed in whatever she was about to say.

"It all happened when I was here when I was young. At first, we couldn't stand each other. You know, the whole boys have cooties and girls are icky phase. Plus, everything we did bugged the other. We'd play cards and I'd always win, I'd try to talk him into playing dress up, him and Francis built a fort and said no girls allowed. It was stuff like that. Even though all that happened, we were still best friends. I knew that if I needed anything he would help and that he would protect me no matter what. I always saw Francis as a brother but the older we got; the more I started to feel my feeling for Bash change to something else. At first I didn't know what it was but then…"

_"Sebastian! I can't believe you did that!" Arianna screamed at him. _

_"What? It's not like you care about him anyway! He was asking for it!" Bash defended. _

_Arianna was in the middle of talking, well flirting, with a very handsome young man, one that she thought would be good to marry. She didn't know him too well but she was of age and everyone would be expecting her to find a suitable husband soon. He came from wealth and title so she figured her father would be pleased as well. In the middle of their conversation, Sebastian had come marching up to them, putting his arm around Arianna's shoulders and began berating the young man with question after question. What his intentions were, how he planned to treat her, and just on and on. Arianna was getting fed up with this and so was the man she was talking to. _

_"Why are you so interested in what I plan on doing with Arianna, huh, bastard?" the young man countered. Arianna sucked in a breath when he called Bash bastard. _

_"What did you just say?" Bash said, his voice going extremely deadly. _

_"I said, if I do plan on marrying her, what is it to you, bastard? What are you going to do about it? You're nothing but a bastard." The young man kept pushing. _

_"That's it!" Bash then punched the young man in the nose making him fall into the lake behind them, dragging Arianna off. _

_"Sebastian! Would you stop?" Arianna yelled, pulling her hand away from his. "Why do you keep doing this? Every man I speak to or show interest in, you come and drive them away? Why? It can't be because you care for me because you flirt with anything that has breasts!" _

_"That is not true! I do not flirt with everyone!" Bash defended, getting as angry as she was. _

_"Well then why? Explain to me why?" Arianna crossed her arms waiting for an answer. _

_"God how you irritate me! I'm just trying to look out for you! Do you not appreciate that?" Bash evaded. _

_"Of course I do! And do you think you do not irritate me? You irritate me to no end! However, you are still refusing to answer my original question. So please, enlighten me, Sebastian." Arianna countered, getting angrier and angrier by the second. _

_Both of them were now breathing heavily, alone and away from anyone that could hear their bickering. Finally deciding that now was the time, Bash did the one thing Arianna did not expect. He grabbed her face in his hands and crashed his lips onto hers. At first, she was startled and didn't respond. Bash took this as her not feeling the same way so he pulled away. _

_"Aria, I—" Bash said starting to apologize but Arianna cut him off by grabbing his neck to pull his lips back to hers. They continued to kiss each other until they had no breath left. The kiss was passionate, intense, and felt like flames had engulfed them. When they pulled away, both were smiling like idiots. _

_"That, Aria, is why I do that." Bash said, pulling her in for another kiss. _

"And well, after that, we just saw each other in secret. We weren't ready for anyone to know and even though my parents allowed me to chose my own husband, I still wanted them to approve and meet Bash before I announced our relationship." Arianna continued. "Now, well, when I left I had said that I'd come back for him, and we can finally be together publicly. However, I was gone longer than I had anticipated. And with everything how it is now, I'm afraid to get close to him again and lose him. Plus, I don't know if he still feels the same way. Like I said, I was gone for a long time, longer than either of us imagined. I couldn't expect him to wait for me for that long so…"

"Wow." Was all Aylee said.

"That sounds lovely." Greer commented. "Was that your first kiss?"

"No, it wasn't. However, that kiss made everything else seem like it didn't matter. It was like I had never been really kissed until then." Arianna answered, staring off thinking about Bash.

"Well then it's decided!" Mary exclaimed. "We shall find a way for you and Bash to be together!" all the girls hummed in agreement.

"No, no. You guys don't need to do that. I can figure all of this out on my own. I've been trying to avoid him until I sort everything out." Arianna reasoned.

"And how's that working out?" Lola asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Arianna shook her head. "Terrible, actually. Every time he's near me, it's like I'm drunk on his presence. He's completely intoxicating."

"Then we must help you!" Kenna decided.

Arianna knew that there was no way to talk them out of it so she just decided to let them do whatever it is they were going to do. Maybe something good would come of it.

**How'd you like it?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 is here! And just a little hint, Chapter 14 is when Arianna tells all about the ring. Something to look forward to maybe? Tell me what you think and I may be putting a flashback chapter soon. **

Not long after their talk was finished, a servant ran down telling Mary that her uncle was here and requested her presence immediately. Mary excused herself, leaving the girls by the lake. Arianna did not envy Mary at all but she knew once word got out to everyone that she was alive, she would be in the same position as Mary. She would in fact, be Queen of Hungary.

Not soon after Mary left, all the girls said farewell for the time being, going their separate ways. As she was wondering the halls, she heard grunting and the clashing of wood through a door on her left. Trying to be a quiet as possible, she poked her head around the door to see Bash and his father practicing sword fighting. By the looks of it, Bash was losing. She saw Henry kick Sebastian to the floor, solidifying his win.

"Your mind's elsewhere. Is it the princess back from the dead?" Henry questioned.

"If I told you, then you'd insist on talking. Something I don't want to do." Bash said, grabbing Henry's hand and standing.

Arianna saw Francis stroll in with such purpose that he hadn't noticed her watching.

"We should help Scotland. Not for Mary but for France." Francis stated.

The king was intrigued. "By all means, explain."

"When you saw that the border is quicksand you assume that we'll lose. England hasn't sent it's entire army north; they're poking to see what reaction they'll get. Now we can strike fast, hit back hard and win. And if we do nothing we risk losing the entire Scottish alliance. Years of planning wasted." Francis reasoned.

"So it's a balance of risks either way? Very good. Except I've decided the reasons against outweigh the reasons for and guess what? I'm king. Another round?" Henry said addressing Bash.

Francis took the wooden sword out of Bash's hands and turned to his father. "You never spar with me."

"Is it a good idea for the king to spar with his usurper." Henry joked.

"Don't you mean his inheritor? " Francis retorted. "If you win, I shut up about this whole subject. If I win, you send those six companies of men."

Arianna watched as Francis and Henry began dueling. Immediately she could tell the vibe was much different than when him and Bash were. It was more intense, more brutal rather than the slightly playful feeling that had been there with Bash. Not soon after it started, Francis managed to defeat Henry, looking very victorious.

"Good, very good." Henry said standing up, out of breath.

"When can they leave?" Francis asked.

"Oh. No one's going to Scotland." Henry said.

Francis looked confused. "But your word, your wager!"

"Well that's what kings do. We make promises to everybody and whatever works for the realm, we keep. Otherwise, they never happened. Lesson for today." And with that, Henry left.

Bash started towards Francis. "That's not the way to get fath—"

"I don't need anymore lessons right now." Francis cut Bash off, exiting in the opposite direction his father had gone in.

Bash sighed, turning towards the door, where Arianna was still standing. "Arianna? How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." Was all she replied.

"Well I hope you enjoyed the show. I must be on my way." Bash said, leaving her alone.

She didn't expect that from Bash. Maybe he was still upset that she had walked away from him the other night, not fully explaining herself. She was hurt that he brushed her off but then she realized that might be how he must feel every time she did that to him. As she was standing there contemplating this, a servant came running up to her.

"Your Grace! You have a letter from Vienna." The servant said, handing her an envelope.

"Yes! Thank you very much!" Arianna said, having mixed emotions hearing about her brother. Taking the letter, she set off to somewhere to be alone. She settled for her spot by the lake. Everyone else seemed to have gone inside so she figured she could be alone out here.

Opening the letter, she braced herself for whatever was in here, whether it was good news or bad. Taking a deep breath, she began reading. Slowly reading the letter, she realized it was a mixture of good and bad news. Her brother was doing okay, but he was healing slowly. A good portion of his body was burned and the laceration was deep. The good news was that he was healing, the bad news was just he was healing slowly and the threat of infection loomed every day. He had gotten an infection a few times but each time he had defeated it. However, the healers weren't sure how many more times he could over infection, especially with how much of him was burned.

She reread the letter multiple times to make sure that she was reading it correctly. Sure, her brother was still hurt and not fully healed but he was alive. She had made it to Vienna in time and saved him. Silently, she started to cry a mixture of happy tears and one filled with sadness. She wished she could go see him but it was still unsafe. She quickly stood up and went straight to her room to write back to her brother.

Making it to her room in record time, Arianna wrote a letter back to her brother, telling him that she was okay and as soon as he was well enough to travel, she would send for him to be with her. She wrote how she was sorry that all this had happened and how she wished she could fix it. When she finished, her face was red and slightly puffy from crying and she assumed her eyes were red. Getting up, she made her way to have the letter sent. Not quite paying attention to where Arianna was going, she ran right into someone. She stumbled backwards but a pair of hands steadied her.

"Whoa, Aria. Watch where you are going. Wait, are you okay?" it was Francis she had run into, someone she hadn't had the chance to properly catch up with since she'd been back.

"Francis!" she exclaimed, hugging him. "Yes, yes. I'm fine. I just, I got word about my brother from Vienna."

"Your brother's alive as well? Is he alright?" Francis asked, walking with Arianna.

"Yes, he's doing alright. Healing slowly, though. A good part of his body was burned and the healers are having a hard time with it. They saw that he is making good progress but since the afflicted area is so big, he could get an infection at any moment."

"Oh, Arianna. I'm so sorry. But the good thing is he's safe, right?" Francis asked trying to comfort her.

"Yes, he is. And as soon as he's better, I will send for him." Arianna said, squaring her shoulders to show that she was strong. "Now, tell me everything I've missed since I've been gone."

Francis then dove into what has been happening with Mary and the court, telling her some things she already knew and some she didn't. What she could tell though is whenever he spoke of Mary, his eyes lit up and a small smile would play at his lips. This confirmed her suspicions of him liking her. Especially since she overheard him stand up to his father for her.

"So what's the deal, Francis? Why haven't you told Mary how you feel?" Arianna asked.

"What do you mean?" Francis retorted, feigning cluelessness.

"Oh, don't you try that with me. I can see how much you care for her. Why haven't you done anything?" Arianna pressed.

Francis sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's not that simple, Ari. We both have our countries to think about. We can't just act on our feelings."

"Who says you can't? I mean, think of your countries but think of yourself, as well. Marrying her would be good for your countries and it would make both of you happy so just do it!" Arianna exclaimed.

"It's more complicated than that." Francis sighed. "But enough about me. What is going on between you and my brother?"

It was Arianna's turn to sigh in frustration. "I have no idea. We've been in this odd place ever since I returned. I'm worried if I get too close, he'll get hurt. Plus, soon I'll have to be like you and Mary and worry about my country before myself. Oh I'm so looking forward to that." Arianna said with the last comment dripping in sarcasm.

"Well, maybe you can still be with Sebastian. I'm sure my father would approve, especially since it will strength the alliance with Hungary and France." Francis offered.

"Francis, you know that is an unlikely scenario. So now I'm unsure what to do even though every fiber of my being wants nothing more than to be with Bash. I'm pathetic." Arianna groaned, putting her head in her hands.

"You're not pathetic, you're in love. As is Bash. He does love you Arianna. Don't doubt that. I love you as if you were my own sister but please, do not hurt my brother. He cares for you deeply, and he was destroyed when he thought you were dead. Just try and talk to him? Maybe it'll help." Francis told Arianna.

"Fine. But! On one condition." Arianna offered. Francis raised her eyebrows signaling her to continue. "Take my advice about Mary?"

"Alright. I've missed having you here, Ari. I'm so glad you're back." Francis hugged Arianna one more time before they both bid their goodbyes.

Having not seen the girls since that morning, Arianna decided to go pay Mary a visit and see how she was. Then, maybe, she could bring up how Francis fought for her and see if she could help him with Mary. Knocking on Mary's door, Aylee answered.

"Oh, Aria. I don't know if right now is a good time." Aylee said.

"Nonsense let her in. I could use a little more advice." Mary called from inside the room.

Aylee immediately jumped back into whatever conversation they were having before Arianna arrived. "A real proposal from a future king? What does your uncle think?"

Mary gave Aylee a look. "I haven't told him yet."

"Because you're worried he'd press you to accept Tomas and you're not ready to let Francis go. It's alright to admit it, Mary." Aylee said, trying to get the queen to admit her feelings.

"I'd be exchanging a man I…admire for a man I barely know." Mary countered.

"And true support for Scotland. Tomas seems nice. Feelings may come in time." Aylee pointed out.

"And what of Greer's feelings? She had her eye on Tomas." Mary said, making excuses.

"A crown prince would never marry her. She's not even a possibility." Aylee brought up.

"Aylee is right, a crown prince wouldn't consider Greer, but if you're unsure, don't accept." Arianna piped up, trying to push her towards Francis.

"Well it's entire possible that nothing will come of it and that Tomas will return home to Portugal." Mary responded. "I asked him to be discreet."

"I don't think Tomas is one for discretion, Mary." Arianna stated bluntly. The girls then finished getting ready for the night, dropping the matter for the time being.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, reviewed and even read this story. It makes me happy knowing that people enjoy it and read it. Thank you so much. So here is the next chapter! **

Later that night, the girls were sitting at table playing cards while everyone else was up dancing. Arianna was watching Francis and Tomas very closely, trying to figure out what each of them was going to do about Mary. Suddenly, she was interrupted from her thoughts by the king yelling at Catherine and Nostradamus.

"Nostradamus!" Henry commanded. "Why don't you share your wisdom with all of us?

Nostradamus looked confused at this sudden outburst. "I don't understand."

"Always at my wife's ear, what do you whisper? I hear emperor Maximillion has a seer in Prague who can tell fortunes using playing cards. Tell the fortunes of Princess Arianna, Queen Mary and her ladies." The king said, gesturing to where they all sat.

Nostradamus kneeled before the king, "Forgive me, your majesty, but I'm not still at cards. And I don't control my visions. They come and go as they will."

"You're not as good as Maximillion's seer?" Henry accused.

"Leave him alone, Henry." Catherine demanded, getting angry at this situation.

"How come? The man must have something to recommend him. Since you rely so deeply on his counsel." Henry offered.

Noticing that he could not get out of this, Nostradamus went over to the ladies, "Each of you pick a card. Have your question ready."

Lola was first to go, "Will I ever love again?"

"You'll meet a dark handsome stranger. Be wary of flattery." Nostradamus gave, rather vaguely.

Mary didn't even have to ask her before Nostradamus spoke again, "Life will offer many challenges. You'll meet them with grace."

Henry was obviously not pleased. "Well that's not very specific! Give us a fortune, not a platitude. Or is that the best you can do?"

Nostradamus got this far off look in his eye, almost dark as he stared directly at the girls.

"The lion will fight the dragon on a field of poppies." Nostradamus said.

"What?" Mary asked, confused by his statement.

"The lion will fight the dragon on a field of poppies." He repeated.

"Uhh..Who will I—" Greer started, but he cut her off.

"You will fall in love with a man with a white mark on his face. " he told her, looking over at Aylee.

"When will I see my family?" Aylee asked quickly.

"You'll never go home." Nostradamus said, and then he turned his attention to Arianna. She didn't ask her question yet, just looked at her and said, "He's coming. He's coming."

"What do you mean never go home?" Aylee demanded.

"That was all I was given. You know nor more than I." Nostradamus said.

"Well there's a showman for you." Henry stated dryly.

"Musicians! Dancing music! Enough of this foolishness." Catherine demanded.

Mary walked over to try to get more answers from Nostradamus but Arianna was just sitting in shock. Could he possibly know? Could what he said possibly be true? It couldn't. She wouldn't let it. It couldn't. All the other girls had gotten up and gone their separate ways but Arianna still sat. Just then, she noticed that the music abruptly changed and she saw Mary and Tomas dancing.

Quickly, she stood up, going over to where Francis and Bash stood to watch the dance that was taking place. It was all very…sexual. Arianna couldn't believe that Tomas was behaving so boldly. She somehow knew he'd do something like this though. She could tell that's just how he was. Someone who liked to show off. When the dance ended Bash turned to Francis.

"Why don't you dance like that?" he asked.

"Shut up." Was all Francis could reply. Arianna couldn't help but laugh at this. That's when Bash turned his attention to her. He winked her direction and then walked away. She wasn't sure what that meant but she didn't have time to find out. Greer was walking out of the hall with Mary following close behind. Arianna was sure that they would be fighting so she let them argue before showing herself. She was about to go comfort Mary when Francis brushed by her in Mary's direction. Mary walked away from Francis, leaving him standing there.

Not being able to take much more drama, Arianna decided that drinking her thoughts away seemed like a good way to go. Stealing a bottle, she set off to an area that had many chairs in front of a window, giving her a view of the boat outings that were taking place outside.

She had already had a few, not eating beforehand so she was already feeling the effects, when Bash came up and sat in one of the chairs next to hers with his own bottle. She took one bigger gulp before turning her attention to him. He hadn't said anything, just sat down and drank his bottle, staring outside. She didn't know how long she stared at him but it was long enough for him to feel it. He turned towards her and raised an eyebrow.

_"God he's attractive." _Arianna thought, taking another drink.

"Now what is a beautiful girl like you doing up here drinking all alone?" Bash inquired.

"I could ask you the same question, Sebastian." Arianna countered.

"You think I'm a beautiful girl? Well I'm flattered." Bash joked, putting a hand to his chest.

"Oh you know what I mean!" Arianna said, lightly pushing his shoulder. He grabbed her hand and held it in his, his demeanor turning from playful to serious in two seconds flat. He thumb rubbed the back of her hand and he looked like he was about to say something when Kenna walking up, sitting on a stool in front of them. Immediately, the pulled away from each other.

"Your father is a confusing man." Was all she said.

"Yes he is." Came Bash's reply.

They all stayed silent for a moment, Bash and Arianna drinking their drinks, while Kenna moved to the spot between them. Arianna silently cursed Kenna for interrupting whatever was just about to happen. Had she been sober, she would've thanked Kenna but not while inebriated.

"Is he a punishing man if he doesn't get the exact thing he wants the moment he wants it?" Kenna asked.

"Hard to imagine a more uncomfortable conversation about one's father." Bash stated.

"You don't even know what I'm talking about specifically." Kenna retorted.

"Oh we know exactly what you're talking about." Arianna said, offering Kenna her bottle.

"There's attention drifting to you and now it's drifting elsewhere, am I right?" Bash inquired. "He's not punishing you, he's playing you. He likes to play and he likes to win. But know this about him, a victory without effort is worse than a defeat."

Kenna looked thoughtful out the window, obvious contemplating something. Arianna took this moment to look behind her at Bash. He was also looking out the window, deep in though. Arianna remembered when he would tell her everything he was thinking before and now... _"Now he thinks I hate him and probably wouldn't even discuss the weather with me." _Arianna took one more big gulp, finishing off her bottle before she stood up quickly. Maybe a little too quickly as she stumbled a little.

"Come, Sebastian! Let's go for a walk." Arianna said, not really caring what his answer was, holding her hand out to him. Kenna gave her a look and winked but didn't say anything as Bash took her hand and they walked away together.

"So are you finally done ignoring me? Are you ready to talk?" Bash asked once they were outside.

"Hmmm. Maybe not quite yet. But, it is a nice night for a walk, isn't it?" Arianna said, giggling.

"My dear Aria, are you drunk?" Bash asked, shocked. He had only seen her drunk a handful of times and each time she acted very differently.

"Why, of course not! What kind of lady would I be if I was alone with a very handsome man whilst I was intoxicated?" Arianna asked, turning to stand in front of Bash.

"Well, if I do recall, I remember you saying that you were not so ladylike on more than one occasion." Bash said, walking towards Arianna, causing her to walk backwards.

"Seems like someone has en excellent memory—"

Being drunk and clumsy, Arianna managed to trip over nothing, almost falling on her backside. However, Bash quickly saw this and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her to his chest. Both of them noticed how close they were, noses almost touching, chests pressed tightly together. His scent filled Arianna's nostrils and she almost couldn't see straight he smell so delicious. Involuntarily, she leaned in closer to him.

"Thank you." She whispered, looking at his neck rather than his face.

"You're very welcome." Bash replied, putting his forehead to hers. That's when she noticed the chain around his neck that disappeared under his shirt. Noticing where she was looking, he pulled out the ring that sat on the end of the chain. "Yes, Aria. I still have it. I believe you still have yours. Or is there something else on the end of that chain around your neck?"

Arianna couldn't answer. She was shocked to find that he still had the ring she had given to him as present before she left. It was a silver band that had AS woven together on the front of his symbolizing their names. She held the ring between her fingers for a moment before looking up at him again. He started to lean in close to her but was soon interrupted.

"Bash!" Francis called.

Growling at his brother, Bash looked over at him. "What it is brother? Can this wait? I'm busy."

"No it cannot. I need you to ride." Francis said, showing him the horse he was leading.

Pulling away from each other, Arianna and Bash knew what this meant. Mary was getting the men she needed for her country. Seeing a water trough nearby, Bash went over and stuck his head in it, trying to sober himself up.

"Send a message to all six captains. Tell them that they'll board ship in Outré au. Are you sure you're all right to ride?" Francis asked.

"I'm a riding fiend, little brother. You'll be happy, Scotland will be happy, Mary will be happy and Mary will stay." Bash said, clasping both of Francis's shoulders.

"Just be careful!" Francis said, walking away.

"Aren't I always?" Bash called after him.

"Well, if always means never." Arianna muttered. "Please, Bash. Please be careful. Come back to me in one piece and unharmed."

Bash's eyebrows shot up. "What?" Arianna asked.

"You said come back to you." Bash smiled, and Arianna nodded and looked down. "Of course I will come back to you, love. I'll be fine as long as you're here when I return." Bash said, hugging her. She nodded into his shoulder before letting go and watching him ride off. She had a bad feeling about this.


	13. Chapter 13

**Here is Chapter 13! I'm sorry it's a little shorter than normal. BUT! Only one more chapter left until the flashback with the ring? Who is excited for it! Anyways, onto the chapter!**

The next morning, Arianna woke up with a headache. Groaning she realized that this was why she never really drank. She then remembered what had happened with her and Bash and realized that this, too, was a good reason not to drink. Getting up, Arianna made her way to see the girls, wanting to check and see if Mary was okay. Going into the hallway, she realized that she was not alone in her destination. Lola, Kenna and Aylee were making their way to the other two as well.

"Morning!" all the girls said joining Mary and Greer.

"I guess I should send down for breakfast then." Mary said about to get up when Greer shot of the bed.

"No let me!" she said, quickly dressing and going down to the kitchen.

"What's gotten into her?" Lola asked.

"Who knows? What I want to know though is what got into Arianna last night. Or maybe who." Kenna said, turning to face Arianna who had taken up a spot on the bed.

"What are you talking about?" Aylee asked, sitting in the chair at the foot of the bed, Lola sitting beside her and Kenna taking the spot across from Mary on the bed.

"Arianna went on a little drunken moonlit stroll with Sebastian last night." Kenna said, watching Arianna blush deeply.

"What? Do tell us!" Mary said, wanting all the details.

"Nothing happened at all." Arianna said, trying to get out of talking about it.

"Don't you try to get out of this one! Tell us!" Lola urged.

"Alright, alright." Arianna surrendered. "We just went for a walk. Kenna shouldn't of let me go alone if she knew I was so drunk though! I really should not have done that."

"Oh why not? You love him, don't you?" Aylee questioned.

"Well, yes, but—"

"No buts! If you love him then just be with him!" Mary said.

"That's easier said than done, and you know that. But honestly, nothing happened. Something might have but Francis came up and sent Bash off to get word out to the six companies for Scotland." Arianna pouted.

"It's looks as if someone is not happy about that." Lola pointed out.

"Well maybe a little disappointed that nothing happened. But it's a good thing nothing did! I can't control myself around him and I need to start being smarter about all of this. If I'm to be queen of Hungary soon, I need to start using my head instead of following my heart." Arianna said rather sadly.

All the girls just frowned at this statement, not knowing how to help her. After eating breakfast, all the girls got dressed and went their separate ways for the day. Arianna was starting to worry about Sebastian, hoping that he would return to her safe. Sure, she had let him in on her feelings last night but she had seen his symbolized around his neck. He did still care for her just as she did for him. However, this made her decision to keep her distance even harder. As she was walking outside, she noticed Sebastian's horse riding up to the castle. What sparked her interest though was not his horse but the lack of Sebastian on said horse.

Arianna ran up to the horse, seeing a guard doing the same thing, only to find Sebastian folded over on his horse, blood flowing from his side. At the sight of all the blood, Arianna froze. She started to take short, fast breaths, not sure she could handle this, handle losing him. Hearing shouting, Arianna snapped out of this and helped the guard take Bash to Nostradamus' chambers, causing quiet a commotion when they entered the castle. Once in the castle, another guard took her place, helping carry Bash and Francis and Mary followed her to the seer's chambers. Catherine was right behind them, Henry joining not long after.

"How is he?" the king demanded.

"He's gravely injured. I can tend to the wounds, ease his pain but I make no guarantees." Nostradamus said, trying to clean the afflicted area.

Arianna quickly kneeled down by Bash's side but couldn't stop looking at all the blood. It was everywhere, covering his whole side and his hands. That's when she looked down at her hands and saw all of this blood on hers. She started to hyperventilate again, but then Bash spoke, causing her breathing to stop altogether.

"Father…" Bash began, sounding so weak. "The English, rode out from Calais to face us. We never made it to the ships. It was a slaughter."

"He shouldn't be talking. I'll give him a potion, put him to sleep. Clear the room, it's the best thing for him." Nostradamus said, pouring a small vile of liquid into Bash's mouth.

Francis knelt down by Bash's head. "Bash I'm so sorry."

Everyone decided to clear the room except for Arianna. She stayed seated on the floor by Bash. Nostradamus looked at her questioningly.

"Your Grace, he needs his rest." Nostradamus started.

"Nostradamus, I have a question." Arianna cut off, her voice having no emotion.

"Yes, your highness?"

"Did Sebastian ever leave my side while I was in here?" she asked.

Nostradamus knew where this was headed. "No, your grace. He did not. Not until you woke up and you saw him leave yourself. Not matter how much I urged him to get some decent rest himself and get cleaned up, he never left your side."

"Then I'm sure you know what I'm about to say." Arianna started. "I'm not going to leave his side until he wakes up. I cannot bear to lose someone else I love. I will stay here, no matter what. Please do not make me leave."

Nostradamus stared at Arianna, knowing full well that he couldn't demand her to leave but yet here was this princess asking his permission for something. Seeing the devastation and the defeat on her face, Nostradamus nodded, saying she could stay with him.

Arianna breathed a sigh of relief. "You may stay. But if you insist on it, I must ask that you help clean him up. He is losing blood and is covered in it." Nostradamus said, handing Arianna a wet towel.

"Yes, of course. I will help with anything I can for him. Thank you, Nostradamus. And thank you for taking care of me when I was here." Arianna said as she took the towel and began cleaning part of Bash's stomach and his hand.

"Bash, please do not die on me. Please…" Arianna slightly pleaded with his unconscious form.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 is finally here! The ring flashback is in this chapter, let me know how you like it please! I hope you enjoy it and it gives you all the feels. Leave me lots of love and I may update again tonight. (:**

Arianna never left Sebastian's side while he was sleeping. He would wake a few times but never for long enough for him to remember. Every time he would wake, the pain would be too much so Nostradamus would give him a sleeping potion again. Arianna slept in the same chair that Bash did while she was here before. However, she had her books brought down to the seer's chambers and read as he slept. Occasionally she would attempt to talk to Nostradamus but he wasn't very social, leaving little room for discussion. He did share his books with her, though, and she learned some things about healing.

This day, Nostradamus had left her in charge of Bash while he went and joined every one else outside, watching Tomas and Francis compete in a tournament. She however, did not care for this. Not while Bash was in bed, severely injured.

After a little while, Nostradamus came back, followed closely by Lola. As Nostradamus was changing the washcloth on Bash's forehead, Lola was wondering how he was, obviously being the one sent to check on him.

"Queen Mary's anxious to know how Bash is." Lola said.

"The wound is closing, but the disease in his blood is spreading. If the fever doesn't break by tonight…" Nostradamus informed her.

Arianna's head snapped up, away from Bash. "He could die? So soon?"

"You're scaring the poor girls Nostradamus. Where's your chivalry?" Bash asked. Arianna had not even seen him wake up.

"Bash, how do you feel?" Lola asked. Arianna was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she could lose Bash forever.

"Close to death apparently. Which feels more or less how it sounds." Bash replied.

"You need rest, Sebastian." Nostradamus insisted.

"What I need is water. And maybe more of that lovely worried frown." Bash said, turning his attention to Arianna.

"I think I could manage that." Arianna responded, taking his hand in hers. Lola sat across from her, on the other side of Bash, watching their interaction.

"How long have you been here, Aria?" Bash asked, coughing at the end of his question.

"Oh, not long." Arianna lied, taking the water from Nostradamus and helping Bash drink.

"She's being modest. She has not left your side since you've been here." Lola informed him, earning her a look from Arianna.

"So are you going to run back to Mary with the troubling news like her other ladies now that I'm awake, or will you stay and look death in the face?" Bash asked.

"I nursed two of my brothers into the grave, scarlet fever." Lola told them.

"I'm not leaving your side, Bash. I have experienced loss and I'm not scared of death anymore. I'm scared of being alone." Arianna said.

Bash looked over at her with a sad look on his face. "There's a difference?"

Nostradamus spoke up from behind them again. "I'm terribly sorry but this isn't helping him rest."

"Every time I look at them I feel better. Every time I look at you I feel worse. The prescription is clear, don't you think?" Bash spat.

Arianna moved to sit on the ground next to Bash's bed, resting her head next to his hand, feeling very sleepy now that she was able to see that he was doing a little better. Bash reached his hand forward and starting stroking her hair. Lola simply watched their affections in awe, seeing how much the two cared for one another.

"There's a book of Norse mythology over there. If you don't mind reading it? Unless, of course, you want to go back to the tournament." Bash said, still stroking Arianna's hair, feeling her breathing against him slow and become steady.

"Not at all." Lola said, beginning to read the book.

When Lola was sure Arianna was asleep, she stopped reading and looked upon the two in front of her.

"Why'd you stop?" Bash questioned.

"I wanted to ask you of your feelings for Aria." Lola stated.

Bash looked down at the sleeping girl and a small smile appeared on his face. "I'm sure she's told you a little of our relationship or else you wouldn't be asking."

"She's told us a little bit but I want to know of your feelings. I already know hers." Lola explained.

Bash ran his hands through Arianna hair and over her cheek. In her sleep, she nuzzled into Bash's hand, trying to get closer. He smiled down at her and then looked back to Lola.

"I still love her, Lola. She is my everything but she keeps pushing me away. Sometimes, she'll let her guard down and allow me back in but as soon as she realized what she's doing, she pushes me farther away. I don't understand. All I want to do is keep her safe and I can't do that if she won't let me." Bash informed. "I know that she went through something traumatic and I can tell that she hasn't dealt with it completely so maybe that is why she pushes me away. I just want to help her, to show her that I do still care. We were engaged after all."

Lola gasped at this. "You were what?"

"Yes, we were engaged. No one but my mother and father knew of it though. We wanted to ask her parents for permission before making it completely official. We already had my father's blessing and we were sure with the King of France behind us, her parents would give us their blessing. I'm sure you've seen the ring that hangs around her neck?" Lola nodded. "That's the engagement ring I picked out for her. I had asked her before she left." Bash said, remembering the memory.

_"Sebastian, my son! Have you done it?" Henry asked eagerly. _

_"Yes, father. I just picked it up this morning." Bash replied, a huge grin on his face as he showed his father the ring he picked out for her. _

_"Oh, I'm sure Arianna will love that. Good choice, son. And I don't just mean in the ring." Henry said, placing a hand on Bash's shoulder. _

_"Thank you. I'm glad I've had your support in all of this." Bash commented. _

_"Well this will strengthen the alliance with Hungary but I couldn't have picked a better match for you than Arianna." Henry told Bash. "Now go make her yours."_

_Bash merely nodded and went in search of Arianna. He checked her room, with no luck, and then decided to check outside at their spot by the lake. A spot that was slightly hidden in the trees so no one could see them there. As he got close to the lake, he saw Arianna sitting the grass with a book in her hands. She always had a book in her hands it seemed. Smiling, he walked over to her, putting his hands over her eyes. _

_"Guess who." Bash said, grinning. _

_"Hmmm, let me think. The only person brave enough to interrupt me while I'm reading must be…hmmm…" Arianna said feigning not to know whom it was. _

_"How about I give you a hint?" Bash said, keeping his hands over her eyes but moving to where he could kiss her. Moving his hands from her eyes to her waist, he felt her arms go around his neck. Deepening the kiss, he moved her to lay on the grass with him hovering over her. _

_Finally pulling apart, he rested his forehead against hers, both of them smiling like idiots. _

_"Well if it isn't the man I love." Arianna said. _

_"Hello, love. Still upset I interrupted your book?" Bash asked, seeing the disregarded book in the grass. _

_"Not at all. Fell free to interrupt me anytime if you do it like that." Arianna smirked. "Now is there a reason you interrupted me or was it just to have my attention?"_

_"Actually, I wanted to tell you that I have plans for us for dinner tonight." Bash told her. _

_"Oh? Something special happening tonight?" Arianna inquired. _

_"Maybe. You'll just have to wait and see. It's a surprise." Bash said, a wicked grin on his face. _

_"Oh, Bash! You know I don't like surprises! Just tell me now. Please?" Arianna pouted, trying to get her way. _

_"No pouting now! You'll find out later tonight. I'll see you then?" Bash asked, kissing her once more, making sure no one saw their intimate interaction. _

_Arianna nodded, sitting back up and retrieving her book. _

_Bash walked away, allowing her to finish reading while he finished trying to figure out how to make tonight perfect. He got halfway to the castle when some girl came over to him, trying to flirt. This girl had gotten uncomfortably close to him, obviously trying to seduce him. The girl, Sienna, was not taking no for an answer. _

_"I said no, Sienna. Please leave me be." Bash said, trying to brush her off. _

_"Oh come now. I know that you are not seeing anyone. So why don't you start seeing me?" Sienna offered, running her hands down Bash's chest. _

_"Can you not take no for answer? I'm not interested. Leave me be." Bash said, grabbing her hands and removing them from his chest, walking away._

_Arianna, watching from the distance, saw the scene completely different. She knew that they were keeping their relationship secret for good reason but that did not stop her from wanting to go over and tear that girls hair from her head. Arianna saw Bash grab her hands, getting very close to her. A pain shot through her heart as she saw this. Could that be the surprise he wanted to tell her? That he wanted someone else? No. It couldn't be. However, seeing this, she started to think that maybe Bash didn't love her as much as he said. _

_Arianna tried to focus back on her book but she couldn't stop thinking about that other girl with Bash. She knew that he was extremely good looking and that other girls took interest in him but she always thought that he would brush them off. Maybe she was clueless to think this all this time. Getting angry, she stood up, going back to her room. She had passed Bash on the way there and he winked at her but she just turned her head and huffed off. Confused, he chased after her, calling her name. Her room only a few feet away, she kept ignoring his calls. Right before reaching her doors, Bash caught up to her and stopped her. _

_"Aria, what is wrong?" Bash asked. _

_"Nothing, Sebastian. I'm fine. Now if you'll excuse me." She said very formally, trying to get around him. _

_"Oh no. You're not getting away from me. Come on." Bash told her, pulling her into the nearest room, which happened to be the library. "Tell me what is wrong? You were just happy outside not too long ago." _

_"It is not of importance, Sebastian. Now, please, let me leave." Arianna said, trying not to show how hurt she was. _

_"No, tell me what happened. What did I do?" Bash pleaded. _

_Seeing that there was no way around this, Arianna conceded. "I saw you with her. That girl outside after you left." _

_"Who? Sienna? She means nothing to me. I barely know her." Bash explained. "She came up and started hitting on me. I pushed her away!" _

_Arianna scoffed, not believing this. "Oh please. I know what I saw. Is that what you were going to tell me tonight? I never thought that I was good enough for you. I guess I was right." _

_"Arianna, please believe me. She means nothing to me. I pushed her away for you. God, you're so frustrating! You are too good for me. Why can't you see that?" Bash said, starting to get frustrated. This is not how he wanted today to go. _

_"Oh spare me, Bash! I know how all the women here look at you. Like you're some piece of meat. And I can't do anything but sit by and let them because we're keeping us a secret!" Arianna argued. _

_"Whose idea was that? Yours! You wanted to wait to tell your parents and I was okay with that! I don't care about any of them! I only care about you." Bash told her. _

_"How can I be so sure? You can have anyone you want!" Arianna said, losing her anger and only feeling hurt. _

_Bash sighed, deciding now or never. "How you can you be sure? This is how." Bash got down on one knee, pulling the ring from his pocket. _

_Arianna gasped. "Bash, what are you doing? Have you thought this through?" She saw the ring. "Oh, you have thought this through." _

_"This is what I was going to ask you tonight. I was going to ask you to be mine forever. I had a plan but I should know by now that with you, nothing ever goes as planned. I wouldn't want it any other way though. I love everything about you and I love that you still keep me on my toes after this long. I love the way that you're always reading, the way that you always come to me with anything, I love you, completely and unconditionally. So what do you say? Am I going to be yours forever?" Bash asked. _

_Tears started to form in Arianna's eyes and Bash immediately jumped up, worried he had upset her. "Shh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you." _

_"Yes." Arianna whispered. "I'm not upset, Bash. I'm happy. So yes. I'm saying yes to forever as long as it's with you." _

_Bash picked her up and spun her around. When he sat her down, he slid the ring on her finger, finding that it fit perfectly. "I love you, Arianna Kurt."_

_"And I love you Sebastian de Poitiers." Arianna said, kissing him. _

"Bash…" Lola said, when he finished telling her the story. "That sounds lovely."

"It was. She was to go home to her parents in a few weeks after that and she was going to tell them and bring them back with her. However, a few days later, she got word that her father had fallen ill and needed her back immediately. She told me that she'd be back for me as soon as her father gets better. It took a little longer than expected for him to recover but he did get better. I'm not sure why she didn't come back immediately so we could be married. Then I got the letter, the one saying that her and her entire family had been killed in a fire that took place in her home. I was devastated, completely heartbroken. Then she showed up at the castle doors, back from the dead. And you know the rest." Bash concluded, tired from having told this long story.

Arianna moaned in her sleep, twitching a little obviously having a nightmare. Bash, resumed running his hands in her hair and she calmed down, falling back into her quiet slumber.

"She does love you, Bash. She's just scared. Give her time." Lola told Bash, trying to comfort him. Bash just nodded, and Lola continued reading to him until he, too, had fallen asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

**Here you go, lovelies. I hope you enjoy chapter 15!**

Arianna woke up some time later, seeing that her and Bash were alone and he was also sleeping. Standing up and stretching, she realized that she should most likely go straighten herself up before Bash woke up again. Looking over at Bash, she leaned down and kissed his cheek.

"I'll be back soon, love. Please don't die while I'm away." Arianna whispered to Bash.

She headed to her room after she left Bash, planning to come back after she fixed herself up a little, and ran into Mary and Aylee. She walked with them back to Mary's room, both of them going to help her get fixed up. As they entered Mary's room, they saw Tomas and his servant standing in there waiting.

"Tomas?" Mary called.

"Forgive me, Mary. I need to see you and I couldn't wait for formalities. I need to discuss some rules and your lady should here them, too. You as well, Princess Arianna." Tomas said.

"Rules?" Mary asked.

"Rules you will live by in Portugal." Tomas stated as if plain as day. "You seem to believe that until you marry to me you are somehow free. If so, you're mistaken."

"My lord, I don't know if I like your tone." Mary said, slight twinge of fear in her voice.

"Do you have whipping boys in Scotland?" Tomas asked.

Arianna knew where this was headed. "Whipping boys? Well some use them—"

"Good." Tomas cut Mary off. "Miguel is now your whipping boy." Tomas turned and backhanded him hard. "That is for questioning me."

"Tomas please." Mary started, but stopped when Tomas slapped Miguel again.

"That is for interrupting me." Tomas said, waiting to see if Mary would speak again. "Much better. You're bound by a treaty, agreed by your betters. You uncle, myself and King Henry. And if you're not impressed by the treaty maybe you will be by this. My ships made your country safe but I can remove them as easily as this." Tomas had picked up a glass and dropped it, allowing it to shatter. "Whatever freedoms of actions or thought you were given by Francis, forget them. When I am king I will rule like most kings. What belongs to my queen belongs to me. For Miguel's sake, I hope we are clear. Are we?"

"Yes, my lord. Quite clear." Mary responded, void of emotion as Tomas and Miguel walked towards the door.

"You can't marry him!" Arianna told her. "I beg of you."

"Arianna, you heard him." Mary said.

"But you're a queen!" Aylee said. "There must be some other way."

"If there was any other option, don't you think I would take it?" Mary said. "I have to marry Tomas. No matter who he is, no matter my feelings, because I am a queen. I have no other option."

After quickly changing, Arianna left Mary and Aylee alone to go check on Bash again. When she arrived she saw that he was awake and Francis was there as well. Nostradamus was checking his fever when she walked in.

"Good news, the fever's broken." Nostradamus announced.

"Thank God." Arianna said relieved, making her way over to Bash.

"So I can get out of—" Bash started, trying to sit up but grunted and fell back to the bed. Arianna immediately kneeled next to him and keep him in bed.

"I wouldn't recommend it. You're going to live if you don't tear your wound open. If you keep resting, if you take proper care." Nostradamus told Bash.

"If I have to spend one more minute in this bed." Bash spat.

"I'm going to make us both feel better and leave." Nostradamus said exiting.

Francis sat down in the chair on the other side of Bash and handed him a glass. Bash took it and looked inside, disappointed.

"Promised you'd sneak me some wine, liar." Bash said drinking the water. "You look worse than I do. It's Tomas, isn't it? Lola told me about your inquiries."

"I don't have any proof yet but everything in me says he's a monster." Francis told Bash. "There are whispers in court that he murdered his first wife."

Arianna scoffed. "I don't doubt that. Mary cannot wed him. He is a monster. If they couldn't find proof in Portugal, how will you find it here?"

"I don't know yet but I have to try. I can't let Mary—"

"Oh but you can and you must." Tomas cut Francis off walking into the room. "You've been asking questions about me. Did you think I wouldn't know?"

"No, no I hoped you would." Francis replied.

"Why?" Tomas asked.

"Because your future wife is a friend of France. Her wellbeing concerns this country and always will." Francis told him.

"Is that a threat?" Tomas questioned, moving closer to him. "If anything happens to Mary, you'll what?"

"I would hope we wouldn't need to find out. Wouldn't you? As her fiancé." Francis countered.

Seeing that Bash was trying to stand on his own, Arianna helped him up; one arm around him while they watched this conversation.

"If anything happens to her it will be up to me. She's my property now, not yours. No matter how many touches you steal, you'll never be more than the powerless princeling who couldn't even send a few men to defend her country." Tomas said, trying to get a reaction out of Francis.

Francis lunged at Tomas but Bash reached out to stop him but Arianna beat him to it.

"No!" Arianna yelled, letting go of Bash and grabbing Francis's arm

"You. You are always around when you are not supposed to be. Aren't you supposed to be dead, Princess of Hungary?" Tomas addressed Arianna now.

"Well I am not, as you can see." Arianna answered strongly.

"Obviously they didn't teach you in Hungary how to stay quiet and keep out of man's business. I would've thought that the Bulgarian prince did thought." Tomas spat at her, getting very close and speaking so lowly that the others didn't hear the last part.

Arianna's eyes got wide. "How dare you!"

"You will not speak to me that way, girl!" Tomas yelled, reaching back as if to hit her. Arianna closed her eyes bracing for it but it never came. Bash had jumped up and grabbed Tomas's arm, trying to ignore the pain in his side.

"I think it's time you left." Bash said coldly. Tomas glared and walked out of the room.

"What was that about?" Francis asked.

"Nothing." Arianna said shortly. "Are you alright, Bash?"

"I'm fine. But he is a monster no matter what the pope chooses to call him. If you won't kill him, I will." Bash said to Francis.

Arianna made sure Bash was okay before leaving again. Tomas knew the secret she'd been trying to keep this whole time and if he let it slip… She couldn't think about that now. Arianna spotted Mary and her ladies around a costume trunk and joined them. All of them looked extremely sad.

"Well I would never know there was a costume banquet in an hour from the faces I see. Right, Arianna?"

"Agreed, Mary." Arianna nodded, looking at the solemn expressions.

"How can you be so cheerful knowing how soon we're leaving?" Greer asked.

"Should I spend my last hours in France with moping and tears?" Mary countered.

"Don't forget pining and regret." Kenna said, Arianna noticed her staring at the King when she said this.

"Mary's right. What's the matter with us?" Greer asked, "Why wallow in misery if we have a choice? Why not use the hours we have left to see some pleasure while we still can?"

"Yes! That's the spirit!" Arianna said smiling.

"Yes, some pleasure. Perhaps some spite." Kenna said, choosing her costume.

"A lovely wood sprite. France will never forget you." Arianna giggled.

"I hope they won't!" Kenna then walked off with her costume.

"You're going to dress up in a footman livery?" Aylee asked Greer.

"Yes, why not? But in case I change my mind, I'll take both!" Greer answered, taking two costumes and walking off.

Arianna continued to dig through the costumes until she found one from the book she saw in infirmary with Bash. Smiling, she picked up her costume and took off. Tonight was going to be an interesting one indeed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Due to all the lovely reviews of praise and needing to know what happens next, here is chapter 16! Enjoy.**

Arianna had gotten all dressed up before she headed in search of Bash. She had stopped by Nostradamus's chambers and found that he had left a while ago. Checking his room and Francis's and coming up short, she headed outside, and there he was. He was standing in a small clearing, practicing with his sword. Standing a little ways away from Bash, she watched him swing his sword this way and that as he was trying to be careful. As he tested his limits though, she noticed him extend his arm too far then almost immediately he dropped that arm to his side and grabbed his wound.

She revealed herself then. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

Bash turned around to face her, a smile appearing across his face. "I know you. I met you in a dream I had about Norse Gods and Goddesses from that book Lola read while you slept. The reality is better." Bash took in Arianna's appearance. She was in a black and purple dress that had different layers in the skirt coming up just below her knees, feeling daring tonight. The entire dress was covered in sparkles, making it look like stars. She was to be Nott, the Norse Goddess of Night. "Nott, I assume? Beautiful and mysterious, I believe that suits you well."

"Are you sure you should be swinging that sword? I can't have you reopening your wound." Arianna told her, furrowing her eyebrows together.

"Better my sword reopens it than someone else's." Bash then spotted Francis approaching them. "Ah! Saint Michael aren't you? That better be a real sword if you plan to slay Lucifer."

"You had to bring up Tomas." Francis asked.

"I don't understand why he changed so quickly. Before Mary said yes Tomas seemed a whole other person." Arianna stated.

"He was desperate. He'd been looking for a queen all over the continent. No doubt to make sure that the pope declared him legitimate. Of course he put on an act if it got him what he wanted." Francis pointed out.

"Well he got bloody lucky, didn't he? If I hadn't been ambushed getting those men off to Scotland, Mary wouldn't be marrying him." Bash said.

Francis and Arianna got the same look of realization. "Say that again." Francis said. "If our men hadn't been ambushed, Mary wouldn't need his men."

"Or his marriage proposal." Arianna finished.

Quickly, all three of them made their way to the banquet to find out where Tomas was and confront him. They all arrived just in time to see Tomas holding onto Mary a little too tight.

"Let go of her!" Francis demanded, pulling Tomas away from Mary.

"You've forgotten our talk." Tomas said. "Mary is my fiancé now."

"You came here almost a crown prince. But not quite. You needed a queen to seal your deal with the pope. And when Mary needed troops sent to her country, you were suddenly there to help. Because my men were ambushed." Francis explained.

Realization dawned on Mary's face. "On a tip from a spy in court. A spy we assumed was Simon."

"But Tomas had a far better motive." Francis accused.

"If you're accusing the next king of Portugal, I hope you have proof." Tomas said.

"We'll have proof soon enough. In the mean time, let go of Mary." Francis told him. Tomas squeezed Mary's hand before stalking off, bumping into Bash and Arianna on his way out.

"Are you alright?" Francis addressed Mary.

"Yes. You said you'd have proof? Did you mean his valet Miguel?" Mary asked.

"Tomas could not have acted alone." Francis answered.

"He hates his master." Mary said speaking about Miguel. "I think he'll help us if we can protect him."

"We will." Francis promised. "I've sent Arianna to find him."

"If Simon is innocent, then the woman whose words I signed my name to lied. She's a pawn in this king's game as much as I am. She might help us, too. Otherwise, if Simon dies wrongly, we will both have war with England. And we can't let that happen." Mary said, walking away.

Arianna had found Francis and Bash a little while later with some not so good news.

"Miguel wasn't in his chambers but a footman said he saw him leaving with Tomas, headed for the game trails." Arianna told them.

"Hunting now?" Bash asked.

"Tomas must want to kill Miguel before anyone talks to him!" Francis deduced. "Let's go!"

Arianna grabbed Bash's hand before he walked away. "Be careful, please. Try not to reopen your wound and die out there. Or else I'll be forced to kill you."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Bash reassured her, kissing her hand.

"Yeah, you said that last time and look how that turned out." Arianna pointed out.

"I promise, I'll be okay. Now, go help Mary." Bash said, taking off after Francis while Arianna went to go find Mary. She found her leaving the castle with a guard and quickly caught up to her. Not soon after leaving the grounds, they found the woman in the woods trying to flee on a cart. Mary told her that she knew of the lies.

"What lies? Why would I?" the woman asked.

"I'd say for the money to buy that new cloak and those boots." Arianna pointed out. "And to get a ride out of town on that vegetable cart."

"And for this?" Mary asked, moving the woman's hair aside to reveal a bruise on her cheek. "To make him stop hitting you."

"I got that from a patron." The woman said, looking away from the two girls.

"When I signed your statement, you told me that you saw Simon clearly. His face, his clothes, his medallion. What was the color of the rose on his medallion? I'll make it easy for you. Was it red or white?" Mary asked quickly.

"It was white. The seal of the English crown. " The woman told Mary.

Arianna exhaled deeply. "Simon's seal is different from England's. His rose is red."

"Please leave me be. I'm so scared." The woman started to cry.

"The king will have your head for you lies. But, he may show you mercy if you tell whom me who made you lie. And tell me now." Mary demanded.

The woman started to cry more. "He swore he would kill me."

"He's not lying if he's who we think he is." Arianna said.

"Just tell me this. Would you know this man if you saw him again?" Mary asked, and the woman nodded. "Get her on a horse! We don't have much time!"

Mary, Arianna, and the woman quickly rode back to the castle hoping that they weren't too late. They had just entered the castle after Bash and Francis entered, throwing a dead Tomas on the ground.

"Make way! This is your spy. We have witnesses!" Francis announced.

"Two of them!" Mary added, walking in behind Francis.

Arianna looked over at Bash and saw him holding his wound. Immediately she went over to him to make sure he was all right. Arianna pulled Bash out into the hallway to check his wound.

"See? I told you I'd be alright." Bash said, trying to lighten her mood.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't try and get out of this one. You may not be injured again but you did slightly reopen your wound." Arianna pointed out, trying to fix the bandages on Bash's abdomen.

"I'm still here, aren't I? Doesn't that count for something?" Bash asked, wincing when she touched his wound.

"That counts for everything. However, if you wish to continue being here, stop being reckless." Arianna said, looking him in the eyes now.

"As you wish, my lady." Bash bowed saying this, eliciting a laugh from Arianna.

The next day, Arianna was standing in on King Henry's public apology to Simon.

"Lord Westbrook! Are you pleased that England has made you their new envoy to Portugal?" Henry asked.

"He's pleased Portugal paid him a king's ransom to stay quiet about what Tomas did to him," Francis muttered to Bash.

"Well, with respect, I'm pleased to be leaving here alive, majesty." Simon said.

"Please, thank Portugal's king for the sacrifice of his son, Tomas. Who gave his life to protect our son from a stag's horns while hunting." Catherine said.

"As to the vile rumors Tomas plotted against France, tell the king we will ignore them if he accepts out sentiments." Henry told Simon.

"Since Portugal's king had no knowledge of any plot, I'm confident he will accept. The matter will be forgotten by all of us and history, too, no doubt." Simon bowed, walking over to Mary to thank her for saving him.

Arianna moved closer to Bash, watching Mary curtsy to Henry. While she observed Mary, she felt Bash's hand reach out for hers. Not wanting to cause a scene in the middle of this, she let him take her hand in his. She smiled at the warmth of his head and she assumed that Bash was smiling as well. She had missed this, even if it was still in secret. She missed being able to show Bash how she felt even if it was in little gestures like this. The king was addressing Mary when she cut him suddenly, demanding the attention of the entire room.

"Thank you, your grace. Scotland is pleased as well. Especially since this time you and my uncle will be allowing me to guide negotiations." Mary said.

The entire room murmured and Catherine scoffed at this, not pleased at all.

"Mary, I don't think—" Henry started but Mary cut him off again.

"In the view of the role Scotland played in resolving your troubles with Portugal and in preventing the wrongful execution of a diplomat, we not only staved off war with England but also sparred our ally, France, considerable embarrassment. Which is why, I am sure you'll want to improve the terms. Committing enough strength to keep your ally safe against England." Mary finished.

Henry looked displeased that Mary had beaten him. "Yes. Of course. Let's continue."

Arianna saw that Francis was staring at Mary with admiration at her boldness. She had a feeling that she could learn a lot about being a good queen from Mary. She sure would need some help in that area. Little did she know, Arianna's announcement of being queen would come much quicker and much more dramatic than she would've liked.


	17. Chapter 17

**And here is Chapter 17! I hope you all enjoy it. **

The next few days were quite uneventful for Arianna. Mary and Francis were getting much closer and she enjoyed that, finally glad that Francis got out of his own way and could be happy with Mary. Her and Bash had done some harmless flirting like they always have done but she avoided being alone with him in case she lost control of her feelings or he wanted to talk again. In avoiding Bash, her and the girls had gotten a lot closer. Lola hadn't told the girls of what Bash told her when he was hurt just yet. She wanted to talk to Arianna first but the time had not come for that yet. They were all sitting in Mary's room when a servant came in.

"Excuse me, but King Henry wishes to speak to Princess Arianna." The servant bowed deeply at addressing all the ladies.

"Oh, why?" Arianna asked, standing from her spot.

"I do not know but it seemed rather urgent, majesty." The servant answered.

"Alright. If you'll excuse me girls." Arianna got up, following the servant to where Henry was.

Henry was standing in the room where she found him sparring with Bash.

"King Henry, Princess Arianna is here." The servant announced, bowing and leaving them alone.

"Ah, Arianna. I haven't had the chance to speak with you personally since you arrived. How are you doing?" King Henry asked her, analyzing her reaction.

"Oh, I'm doing well, your grace. Just taking it one day at time. Being around people who care about me helps very much." Arianna was choosing her words wisely, not sure if Bash had mentioned anything to his father.

"Might one of those people be my son?" Henry inquired, motioning for her to sit across from him.

She blushed slightly, only able to nod.

"Well, you know that I always enjoyed you two together. However, things might change with the news I am about to give you." Henry told her.

"Oh?" Arianna raised her eyebrows. "What news might that be, majesty?"

"Your grandmother, Emese Kurt is arriving here today to discuss the matters of you being queen." Henry announced.

Arianna sucked in a breath, eyes growing wide. She dreaded this day, knowing that it was coming. Her grandmother was some of the only family she had left but she was a horrible woman. Arianna could not stand her and hated that she was to be here with her.

"When is she to arrive?" Arianna asked, no emotion in her voice.

"She will be here by the end of the day." Henry started. "Arianna, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, your majesty. Thank you for the concern. Please have someone inform me the second she steps foot onto the castle grounds." Arianna requested, still not showing how she truly felt.

"Arianna, please. I've always seen you as one of my own. If you need anything, let me know. Do you understand?" Arianna nodded at Henry. "I will have someone let you know when she gets here. Until then, try to enjoy the harvest festival."

Arianna walked down to where the festival was taking place, lost in thought about what she was going to do when Emese got here. Looking over, she saw that Bash was talking to Mary and her ladies. Making her way over to them, she saw Bash go in a different direction and decided she should tell him now.

"Sebastian! Wait!" Arianna called, trying to get him to slow his pace.

"Yes?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I need to talk to you. It's important." Arianna said.

"Well, let's walk. What is this about?" Bash asked once they were a little ways away from listening ears.

"My, umm, grandmother is to be here by the end of the day." Arianna blurted out.

"Oh. Don't take this the wrong way but is that all?" Her statement confused bash. He hadn't thought this was what she was going to talk to him about at all.

"She is, without a doubt, coming here to tell me that it is official that I am now queen of Hungary. However, that will certainly not be the only reason why she is here. She is truly horrible woman and she cannot know that anything has happened between us. Do you understand?" Arianna told him, looking him in the eyes.

"But…why?" Bash was still confused.

"She is very…uptight. I don't want to offend you because you know that I never cared that you were a bastard but she will. She will condemn you to hell and back, making your life miserable if she knew that you courted me. She's sort of like Catherine in that respect." Arianna stated. She realized now that she should have kept her distance from Bash like she had decided to do when she first arrived. "That is all. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find Mary and her ladies."

With that, Arianna walked away from Bash leaving him confused. He wasn't quite sure what she was talking about but he had the feeling that he wouldn't be able to spend as much time with her as he would like. If he would even get to spend any time with her at all. Coming to this conclusion, he sent off to find some more wine.

Arianna found Mary with Francis; he was giving her a boat that he had made for her. They looked happy until a guard had come up and ruined this. Seeing an opportunity. Arianna took Francis's place at Mary's side.

"Oh no." Arianna muttered, seeing whom it was that Francis hugged.

"That poor girl." Mary said, turning to Arianna. "Who is she?"

"That's Olivia D'Amencourt. Her family lived at court for a time. I believed they shared a mathematics tutor." Arianna told Mary.

"Mathematics?" Mary questioned. "I see. And when did their mutual education end?"

"Well, apparently she left a few months before you arrived." Arianna said.

"Brokenhearted?" Mary asked her. "Aria, it's alright. You can tell me."

"Yes, he was." Arianna replied.

Later that day, the girls were sitting together while Aylee was reading to them. Greer kept interrupting to talk about a man she had met at the festival, who was clearly extremely boring.

"It's a talent really! No matter what the topic, he can wind it back to pepper." Greer said. The girls laughed at this. "Sorry, sorry. Go on."

Aylee started reading again. "I bring up politics, pepper transactions are a political minefield! History, the peppercorn has a storied past." The girls laughed again.

"I doubt he'd wind Vergil back to pepper." Aylee commented dryly.

"Oh stop. We know what happens. He wonders around Troy for another hundred stanzas." Greer retorts.

Just then, Olivia walks into the room and everyone quiets. Olivia just stands in the middle of the room for a moment, and other people start to leave at her presence.

"You and I find ourselves strangely aligned for once." Catherine told Mary, exiting.

"Are people leaving?" Lola asked.

"She dislikes Olivia more than you?" Aylee asked Mary.

"Apparently." Was all Mary said.

"Why would Olivia return here?" Lola asked out loud.

"With the prince's favor, she could find a match." Arianna stated.

"If need be, Francis could force the issue." Kenna added.

"Who'd willingly take used property? Even a royals?" Greer sneered.

"It sounded like there were real feelings there. Should she be punished forever?" Kenna countered.

"Her station's fallen. She doesn't belong at court." Greer told Kenna.

"Some might say the same of you." Kenna retorted.

"Because I don't have a title? How dare you." Greer accused Kenna.

"Stop." Mary commanded. "Please. There's enough ill will at court today." And with that, she got up and greeted Olivia and invited her to join her and her friends.

"I heard that your things were still missing. Perhaps I could lend you a dress for the festival if you'd like. " Mary offered.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Was all Olivia said.

A servant ran up to where the girls sit, addressing Arianna.

"Princess Arianna, the king has sent me to tell you that the…package you were expecting has arrived." The servant said, choosing their words carefully.

"Oh, thank you. I'll be back." Arianna said, standing up abruptly and following the servant.

This was not going to be a fun meeting at all.

Arianna made her way to the throne room where her grandmother was waiting on her. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the doors.

"Emese!" Arianna greeted, trying to sound as welcoming as possible.

"Arianna, kedves! I am so glad that you are all right! Gyere ide." Her grandmother, Emese, told her.

Arianna complied, going forth with where Emese was. Emese grabbed both of her shoulders and looked at her.

"Kedves, you have had everyone worried. Why didn't you ride to me immediately? You know better than that." Emese scolded.

"I thought it'd be safer here." Arianna offered as an answer.

"Safe from fires? Please, silly girl. Fires can happen anywhere. This is not the matter I wish to discuss with you though. I have gotten word and it is official. You are now Queen of Hungary. We shall have you married at once!" Emese told Arianna.

"Excuse me?" Arianna choked out.

"Well, kedves, you are of age. Older than that, in fact and you are still not married. So, as I told you in Hungary, you will marry Daymen. Is there something you do not like of this?" Emese asked, as if daring Arianna to disagree.

"No, it's not that. I just, didn't expect it to be so soon." Arianna responded, not wanting to fight in front of the king.

"Well seeing as the harvest festival is today, we shall have a feast honoring Arianna's rise to the throne the day after next!" King Henry said, noticing the tension between the two women.

"Thank you, King Henry." Emese thanked. "That should be enough time for Daymen to arrive."

Arianna went deathly pale and her eyes got even wider, if that was possible. "Daymen is coming here?"

"Arianna, honestly. Where are your manners! You are here and the man I picked out for you to marry when you returned after your father fell ill will come here as well. He was absolutely beside himself when he heard of your death." Emese explained. "If it is alright with you, King Henry, I would be in your debt if you allowed the princes of Bulgaria to come, Daymen and Blazhe Draganov. When Arianna came home, I had informed her of the arranged marriage the king of Bulgaria and I had come to agree upon between her and Daymen. I do hear that you throw some of the best feasts and weddings so I thought since Arianna is already here, then if you agree, we could have her wedding here?"

Arianna was becoming more and more upset at her grandmother. She was standing right here, there was no need to talk as if she wasn't. King Henry looked at Arianna, as if trying to figure out what to do.

"Of course, Emese. Please, invite them. The Bulgarians are our friends after all! A royal wedding would be lovely to have here." King Henry said, looking at Arianna with concern rather than Emese.

"Thank you, your grace. Now Arianna, run along and let the grown ups handle all the details. And please, try and look presentable for your future husband when he arrives. We can't have you looking like, well as you do now." Emese critiqued, pursing her lips.

Arianna squared her shoulders, curtsied to her grandmother and stormed out of the throne room. She needed a drink. A lot to drink. This was not going to go over well. Stalking out of the room, Arianna saw that the harvest festival was in full motion. Grabbing two glasses of wine and quickly downing each in one gulp, she grabbed one more, walking around. She spotted Francis and hoped that he could help her find Bash so she could tell him the truth, tell him what really happened at her castle before she lost her nerve, being fueled by the anger towards her grandmother. Hopefully he would understand everything now.

"Francis!" she called. He turned around and walked towards her. "Have you seen Bash?"

"No, I was about to ask you if you've seen Mary." Arianna shook her head.

"Is everything alright?" Arianna asked.

"I hope so. I lost my temper and I wish I hadn't. She irritates me like no other." He admitted.

"But there's hope in that." Arianna told him. "Let's go and find them."

Francis nodded and they walked away together. Finishing off the glass she had, Arianna picked up another while they were searching, not caring that she had not eaten or that she would not feel well tomorrow. Francis had just reached where he could see the lake when he abruptly stopped causing Arianna to run into his back. She was about to ask why he stopped when she saw what he was seeing.

There, just sitting next to the lake were the two they were looking for. Only, they were locked in a kiss. Arianna started to breathe faster and faster, causing her head to spin more. Not able to take another second of this, she turned on her heel and darted off.

She couldn't believe it. Bash and Mary, kissing! It was unfathomable. But it was reality. Taking a deep breath, she summoned all the strength she had and shut down. If Daymen was really coming for her, then she couldn't have anything to do with Bash. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. This could be what drove her to actually push Bash away. She lifted her head and stared straight ahead, walking back to the festival. She was now Queen of Hungary. No longer could she allow emotions to run her life as she had done before. She had to keep her emotions in check and she would. She had to.

_He was coming. _


	18. Chapter 18

**Here is chapter 18! I hope you all enjoy it. things are about to change. **

Sebastian was having nightmares of the servant that told him he needed to choose someone to sacrifice. He was sweating profusely and awoke with a start from his nightmare. He was worried about the debt he owed the pagans and he didn't know what they would do. This was only one of the tings he had to worry. As soon as he kissed Mary, he knew it was a mistake. She was not who he wanted to kiss. After his talk with Arianna, he was so distraught that he drank his sorrows away until he couldn't think straight. When he saw how upset Mary was about Olivia and Francis, he thought, what the hell? He saw her lean in and in his drunken state, he went along with it as well.

However, there was nothing to be done about it right now. His father was returning home today and he needed to join everyone outside to greet him. After getting dressed and ready, Bash walked outside where everyone else was gathering. From a distance, he saw Arianna standing with who he assumed was her grandmother. She did look like an evil bitch. He could tell Arianna was not happy by the way she was standing. Her shoulders were far too straight, her head held a little too high, and her jaw was clenched as her grandmother was talking on and on about something. The only response Arianna would give was a small nod here and there. Other than that, she looked as if she could be a statue. She finally noticed his staring and looked over at him. He gave her a slight smile, but she just narrowed her eyes and turned away. _Great, _he thought.

Not having another second to think about that encounter, Mary was making her way over to him.

"I was hoping we needn't discuss this but clearly we do." Mary started. "That kiss."

"I remember it." Bash said shortly, not wanting to think about his stupid mistake any longer.

"I was a bit drunk. And you were too, weren't you?" Mary asked.

"Would you like me to share in your remorse? Would that make you feel better?" Bash countered shortly.

"Yes it would." Mary answered.

"I regret it, yes. You are engaged to my brother, a brother I consider my friend and as you know, I still have feelings for Aria. I was drunk and that should have never happened. I apologize. Thankfully they don't have to know that it happened." Bash told her, wanting to drop the subject completely.

"He's been distant since we argued. And I want to make things up with him. I have to." Mary confessed.

"Of course. Now, why are we still talking about this?" Bash inquired.

"Because of your gift." Mary told him. "The necklace."

Bash was confused. "What necklace?"

"Oh. I assumed, I thought." Mary tried to get out. "It was in my rooms this morning."

"You assumed I snuck into you room?" Bash asked surprised.

"Well I didn't know what to think. After the kiss and my argument with your brother." Mary trailed off, showing Sebastian the necklace.

He paled at the sight of it. "What? What is it?"

Bash looked up at her, worried. "I've seen this necklace before."

Mary looked over and say Francis, "Excuse me." She said before taking off.

"Mary!" Bash called out for her but it was too late.

As he watched Mary leave, he saw that Arianna was staring at him, most likely watching him and Mary talk. He wanted to go over and tell her what happened and confess everything. He took a steps towards to her, his intentions most likely all over his face. She, however, shook her head slightly but forcefully, telling him not to come over. Sighing, he went and stood between Catherine and Olivia. He watched as his father and his mother exited the carriage and started their walk to the castle. Seeing an opportunity, he grabbed Francis and Mary, hoping to explain what dangers where coming.

"We need to talk. It's important." Bash told them. "Follow me."

Once inside the castle, Bash looked around and made sure that he was not overheard before speaking.

"The people of this faith they claim that I owe them a debt. More than once in their minds I've interrupted their blood sacrifice. The butcher boy said that if I didn't choose someone to sacrifice that they'd choose for me." Bash explains.

"So that's what's been going on in the woods? Pagan sacrifice?" Mary asked.

"Among other dangers, yes." Bash told her.

"And now they've chosen me." Mary deduced.

"Because somehow they got the idea that threatening you is a good way to get to my brother." Francis said coldly. "But that doesn't matter now, does it? What matters is finding out what left this marker in Mary's chambers. What matters is her safety. I'll make sure there's a guard outside your room at all times." Francis told Mary, and then turned to Bash. "You need to find out exactly how serious this threat is. Ask the hunters that you know in the woods. The guards, Nostradamus, anyone."

"Maybe the servants saw how the necklace got into my rooms. I'll question them." Mary said, walking away.

"Mary," Bash called, "I'm sorry." He waited until she was out of earshot before turning to Francis. "I never would've cut those bodies down if I knew it would lead to Mary."

"I don't blame you for cutting the bodies down, I'd have done the same thing." Francis told Bash.

"Then what are you so angry about?" Bash asked confused.

"There are too many secrets between us, brother. Far too many." Was all Francis said before walking away.

Not knowing what else to do, Bash went in search of his mother, hoping that she could help with his problem. He found her and immediately told her of what has happened while she's been away. Well, told her about the pagan part anyway. He had chosen to omit the parts that involved Arianna for now.

"Do they really think I can drag an innocent into the woods and slaughter them?" Bash asked.

"Could you? To save yourself?" Diane asked.

"No."

"But to save Mary?" she asked, worried about how close Bash was becoming with her.

"I don't understand how you ever worshiped along side these savages." Bash told her.

"I was young. It was a different faith. We worshiped the natural world. Sacrifice was only a small part of it. It was not human." Diane explained to her son.

"Do they count me one of them because of you?" Bash asked her.

"I don't know." Diane responded. "The larger question is what people here in the castle would consider you if they knew."

Bash was shocked. "I'm Catholic. I practice my father's religion. As do you."

"Have no illusions, if they learned about my past we would both burn as heretics." Diane said. "We're outsiders. You live here at your father's will. And someday your brother's, do not covet his future wife. Even the laws on your chosen faith are clear on that."

"Mary's in danger because of me." Bash said.

"And Francis knows that." Diane pointed out.

"If anything happened to her—"

"He would blame you." Diane said.

Bash got up and paced a little bit. "So that's my choice? Chose someone to kill or let them kill Mary?"

"It's only a matter of time now that they've marked her." Diane said. "Pay the debt and then harden your heart again her."

"Mother." Bash started, deciding that now was as good a time as any to talk about everything that has been going on. "There's something else I need to talk to you about."

"Does this have anything to do with Arianna?" Diane guessed. Her son was never one for being able to hide his feelings. "What's happened now?"

"I don't know anymore. One minute she's flirting and so close to me, and the next, she's pushed me away, avoiding my presence. I have no idea what to do anymore. Now she's said that we cannot even be friendly in public because her grandmother is here." Bash explained. "I still love her, mother."

"I know you do. I can see it every time you look at her." Diane tried to comfort Bash the best she could. "Maybe I could have tea with her grandmother and see what this woman is like."

"No, don't get involved. I don't want to cause trouble for Aria. But thank you." Bash said, leaving the room.

The talk with his mother didn't do much to ease Bash's mind about either topics. Needing some time to think about what he needed to do, he made his way to the sunroom. When he reached there, he saw two people he did not expect to see. There, sitting across from one another, was Arianna and the woman whom Bash assumed was her grandmother. He was about to turn around when Arianna noticed him. Her eyes widened just a slightly but it was enough for her grandmother to notice.

"Arianna?" her grandmother tried to get her attention. "Oh, and who is this?"

"Grandmother, allow me to introduce you to Sebastian, King Henry's son." Arianna said, a little more formality in her voice than normal. "Sebastian, this is my grandmother, Emese."

"Pleased to meet you, Lady Emese." Bash said, bowing to the woman.

"You as well. Wait a moment. Arianna, isn't Queen Mary being wed to the heir of the King's throne? Why is Sebastian here not next? He does look like he is older." Emese asked, eying Bash very carefully.

"Sebastian is not the king's legitimate son. He is Lady Diane's son, the king's mistress." Arianna explained.

"A bastard! Living in the castle? That's absurd!" Emese exclaimed, looking at Bash with disgust.

"Excuse me?" Bash said, now seeing why Arianna wanted him to keep his distance while Emese was here.

"Grandmother! Do not talk to him that way! You are here by the king's request and there is no need to go around disrespecting his children. Whether they be legitimate or not." Arianna scolded.

"Child, do not raise your voice to your elders. Do you understand?" Emese said, with a deadly tone to her voice, forgetting that Bash was watching the whole thing.

Bash watched Arianna shrink back just a bit, nodding and saying yes in reply. He was stunned. He was so used to Arianna standing her ground against everyone and being so open. Yet here, in front of this woman, Arianna was being closed off and reserved. He had no idea how to take this.

"That is better. Now, Sebastian. How do you know Arianna?" Emese asked, turning her attention to Bash.

"Oh, I just know her from when she stayed here before." Bash replied, watching Arianna glare at the side of her grandmother's head.

"And are you…close?" Emese asked almost threatening him to say they were.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Bash didn't know how to answer.

"Emese! Stop badgering the man. Leave him be. We need to leave anyway." Arianna announced abruptly, standing up.

"Yes, yes. You're right child. We must see how much longer until—" Emese started but Arianna cut her off.

"Yes! Let's go check on that!" Arianna said a little too loudly and with a look of fear in her eyes. "Good day, Sebastian."

"Good day." Was all Sebastian could muster as the two women walked away.

"Honestly, Arianna, what has gotten into you? You are acting so strange. Hopefully you are not ill." Emese said as the rounded the corner. He noticed Arianna look behind her at him but did not say anything.

He had no clue what just happened. This was not his usual Arianna this was someone entirely different. Someone who was scared and compliant instead of open and stubborn. He knew he had to figure out why Arianna was acting this way but one thing was for sure. He had to get her alone to do that and that would be feat itself.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 everyone! I hope you enjoy it(:**

Arianna had been in whirlwind ever since her grandmother arrived. She had been trying to deal with all the criticism and the nagging but it had come to be a bit much for her. Emese had always been very critical though. Her grandmother never liked the freedom that her parents gave her. Granted, it wasn't a lot, but it was still enough to make her grandmother very upset.

Then there was Bash. Arianna had done a good job of avoiding him, without even trying but all that was thanks to Emese. She had kept Arianna busy. Trying to teach her how to be more proper, complaining about her attitude, about how she needed to look like a queen. It was aggravating Arianna to no end. Then the way her grandmother belittled Bash right in front of her. Of course Arianna stood up for him but that didn't dissolve the anger she felt over him kissing Mary.

After all these events, Arianna was revealed when she climbed into bed away from all the stress and drama. Usually, she would dread being alone at night but not tonight. She was exhausted with trying to please her grandmother and trying to keep Bash out of her head Finally drifting to sleep, she hoped that a good nights rest would come. However, it did not.

Arianna was awoken with a start when she heard Mary screaming bloody murder from her room. Leaping out of bed, Arianna ran down to Mary's room to see what was wrong. Upon entering, she immediately saw was caused the screaming. Above Mary's bed was a stag's head, dripping blood onto Mary.

"Mary! Come here." Arianna called, bringing Mary into her arms. "It's going to be okay."

Francis walked into the room with guards not long after Arianna pulled Mary into her arms. She held onto Mary as Francis called for more guards and servants to get the stag off her bed.

"We need to get you out of here." Francis said walking over to Mary and Arianna.

Arianna nodded and let Francis pull Mary from her arms, starting to head for the door.

"They must've drugged me." Mary stated. "There's no other way I would sleep through this. My head feels as heavy as that stags."

"Sit down, then." Arianna suggested as she gestured to the seat next to Mary.

"Look at my hand!" Mary exclaimed holding out her palm to reveal a burn in the shape of a stag's head. "It looks as though I've been burned!"

"Where you touched the pendant. Perhaps it was dipped in come sort of poisonous oil. Sumac or ivy." Francis offered as a theory.

"How much danger am I in?" Mary questioned.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Francis said.

Arianna was sitting behind Mary, trying to sooth her by rubbing her back. Her anger towards Mary completely dissolved knowing that she was in danger. She couldn't lose someone else. She'd talk to Mary later, hoping that she could understand what happened instead of bottling up her anger.

"Mary, are you alright?" Bash asked storming into the room.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." Francis told her, getting up and pushing Bash outside.

Arianna stayed sitting with Mary while the two men went outside to talk. They watched as the servants got the stag's head down and took away the dirty sheets. As they left, Catherine walked inside.

"How could this have happened?" Catherine demanded.

"You've had someone break into my room before. Why don't you tell us how it's done?" Mary accused.

"Are you accusing me of this?" Catherine was outraged.

"We're not accusing you of any involvement, mother." Francis said, coming back into Mary's room.

"Does that mean you know who's done this?" Catherine asked.

"Right now I'm sure we're less worried about who than how." Arianna commented.

"They'd have to have drugged her." Catherine concluded. Walking over, she picked up the goblet by Mary, sniffing it. "This is poppy. I suspect your guard was given the same thing, Where is he?"

"Infirmary. Severe stomach pains." Francis told Catherine.

"That means he drank too much of it." Catherine said. "A stag's head! What message is that meant to convey?"

"It's a symbol. Of the pagans." Mary told her.

"What do either of you know about pagans?" Catherine was shocked that this was the answer.

"Only what everyone knows. That they're becoming bolder, more ruthless and thirsty for blood." Francis said.

"It seems the more fear they spread the more power that they gain." Arianna added.

"These devils have come inside our walls. Inside my home." Catherine said.

"These heretics worked together to threaten us. Now we must work together to stop them." Mary stood up, siding with Catherine.

Not wanting to stay for any more chitchat, Catherine stormed out. Arianna stood up and grabbed Mary's hand.

"Why don't you come rest in my chamber's for a little while, Mary? At least until you feel better." Arianna offered.

"I think that is a great idea, Aria." Francis agreed.

"Alright, thank you." Mary said, following Arianna to her room.

Once there, both the girls sat on the bed in silence for a minute. Mary laid her head back against the pillows while Arianna just sat up, staring at Mary.

"What is it, Aria?" Mary asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." Arianna shook her head, looking away.

"If there is an 'it', then it must be something. Go on, talk to me." Mary offered, sitting back up so she could look at Arianna properly.

"Well, until this morning, I was a bit angry with you." Arianna saw the confused look on her face. "I saw you kiss Bash by the lake."

Mary sucked in a breath. "Oh. Aria, please listen. I was drunk, he was drunk. He was going on and on about how much he cared for you and how he was upset that you weren't speaking to him and such. I wished that Francis could feel that way for me and I kissed him. I wasn't thinking straight and to be honest, I wasn't thinking it was Bash. I was thinking about Francis and as soon as it happened, I regretted it instantly. He does, too."

"It's no concern now anyway. Nothing more can happen between Bash and I. My grandmother has seen fit to that." Arianna said sadly.

"Does that mean you forgive me?" Mary asked hopefully.

"Yes, I forgive you. When you screamed this morning, all my anger was forgotten and I knew that if something had happened to you, I didn't want to be angry if it was the worst." Arianna told her.

"Thank you. I'm so sorry though." Mary apologized. "Now about your grandmother."

At that moment, Emese herself decided to make a grand entrance.

"Arianna, darling! Oh, dear. Why on earth are you still in bed? Oh, Queen Mary. I did not see you there. Please to meet you, Your Grace." Emese said, curtsying to Mary.

"Just Mary, please. I'm afraid it's my fault that Arianna is still in bed. See—"

Emese cut Mary off. "Please, Your Grace. Do not try to make excuses for my granddaughter. She knows that she has a lot to learn about being queen and we need to get an early start every day."

"Yes, grandmother. I apologize for that." Arianna said.

Mary immediately snapped back to Arianna, seeing how suddenly her tone and demeanor changed almost the second Emese had come in the room. Instead of having her normal, caring look in her eyes, there was a dead unfeeling look to them. She sat up so straight Mary thought her back might be in pain. Her voice had changed from light and carefree to that of one talking to someone they hated.

"Arianna, your hair! What have I told you about keeping it up? You look more like royalty that way and people will know that you are a queen. Not by keeping this mess you call hair down and around your face." Emese said, grabbing a few pins and walking over to Arianna.

Arianna tried to brush her grandmother off, but she forcefully grabbed her chin and made her stay still. Clenching her jaw, Arianna let her grandmother swoop all her hair back and up.

"There! See, much better. Now get dressed. We have a _lot _of training to do a very little amount of time to do it in. We will fix you, Arianna. Before Daymen and Blazhe arrive." Emese told her. "Lovely to meet you, Mary."

With that, Emese left the girls. Mary was in shock about the events that just took place. As soon as the doors shut, Arianna hands quickly went to her, pulling out the pins and letting her hair fall back down.

"Your grandmother seems very…" Mary trailed off, not sure how to finish without being rude.

"Evil, controlling, manipulative? Take you pick. I know how she is and I'm sorry you had to witness that." Arianna apologized, getting up to get dressed. She hoped that Mary wouldn't ask about the Draganov brothers but she was wrong.

"Aria?" Mary called. "Who were the men your grandmother spoke of?"

"Come on, Mary. Let's get dressed." Arianna avoided.

"Aria, tell me. It's okay." Mary pressed.

Arianna sighed deeply, biting her lip. "They are the princes of Bulgaria. Blazhe is the second oldest and Daymen…" Arianna paused, scared to say whom he was.

"Who is he?" Mary had come over and put her hand of Arianna's shoulder for comfort.

"Daymen is meant to be my fiancé." Arianna told Mary, turning to face her, tears forming in her eyes.

"Oh, Aria." Mary hugged her as she cried into her shoulder.

Arianna knew that Mary didn't know why she was crying but she was happy Mary was there to comfort her. Even if she didn't know why. The truth was, Arianna had hoped that if she could remain "dead" long enough that Daymen would have found another princess to wed. That wasn't the case however. He was coming for her and that paralyzed her with fear. It made her confront everything she had kept buried deep inside and she couldn't take it. Until now, she had remained to keep her resolve in front of people who didn't truly care about her, like her grandmother, but as soon as Mary asked, everything came crashing down. She would have to face what she had been running from. Daymen Draganov.


	20. Chapter 20

**Here is Chapter 20, due to the amazing reviews and how I got so many at once, I'm updating twice in one day! Keep giving love and wonderful things like that and I may update more often. But anyways, enjoy!**

After composing herself, Arianna helped Mary get dressed and she did the same for her. Mary hadn't asked Arianna why she was crying, and for that she was relieved. She knew that she needed to let Mary know what happened after her little outburst but she just wasn't ready yet. Thankfully, Mary could tell and didn't ask. Just changed the topic and they got dressed.

Once dressed, the girls decided to go their separate ways. Mary had said she was going to help Catherine figure out who helped terrorize her and Arianna had the wonderful queen training with her grandmother. She wished she could have gone with Mary to help but her grandmother was one you did not keep waiting. Arianna found her grandmother in her chambers and went to see how today would go.

"Grandmother? I'm ready to start." Arianna announced coming into the room.

"Finally. You take much too long to get ready. Now, today we are going to discuss…" Emese started but Arianna just tuned her out.

Sitting by a window, she could see the grounds outside. Her grandmother, still prattling on about something, didn't notice Arianna's lack of focus. She was trying her hardest, but failing to not let her mind wander to Bash. Mary had told her a bit of what happened this morning with the pagans and Bash, and she hoped that he was okay. Arianna had tried her best to stay mad at him, but no matter what, she could not hold onto her anger. She could never stay angry with Sebastian. Even before, when they fought, she'd only be able to stay mad at him for a couple of hours at best. One of them always finding the other and apologizing and making up.

Since she talked to Mary, she understood what had happened better and it helped dissolve her anger. However, she wished it hadn't dissolved. She needed her anger towards Bash to keep her away from him. Even now, her body ached to be near him. It was like he was her drug and she could never have enough. Scolding herself for thinking about this, she tried to focus on something else.

Emese was still going on and on about how she needed to act more proper and pay attention to all the needs of the country and such. Seeing that she didn't miss much, she zoned back out again, looking outside. As she stared out the window, her mind drifted to the other thing she had tried so hard not to think about. Daymen Draganov. He was arriving soon and she could not be anymore terrified.

"Arianna!" Emese exclaimed.

"Yes?" Arianna answered in a monotone voice.

"Did you hear me?" Emese asked. When Arianna shook her head, Emese repeated herself. "I said, once Daymen gets here, we shall make your engagement official!"

"Emese," Arianna started. "I don't know if I'm ready to be engaged after everything that has gone on."

"Nonsense! You're more than of age and you should be married by now. You should have been married a long time ago, but your parents had this outlandish idea that you should pick your own husband. Now that you are the queen, you will need a king at your side. And with the marriage to Daymen, Bulgaria and Hungary's alliance will be stronger than ever!" Emese told her.

"What if I do not wish to marry Daymen, grandmother?" Arianna asked, every word dripping with distain.

"You are the queen of Hungary, you do not get a say in this. You will marry for the alliance and you will not upset the Draganov's. I know his has three other brothers and he is the third of them but he is still royal and will be a great king. You will marry him, and that's final. Are we clear?" Emese had come over to Arianna and her voice had gotten demanding.

"Crystal." Arianna replied, looking back out the window. Upon looking, she saw Bash and someone who looked like they'd been imprisoned riding towards the forest.

Worried for his safety, Arianna stood up abruptly and excused herself from Emese's presence. Her grandmother, fed up with Arianna's defiance, let her leave. Without stopping to think what she was doing, her feet carried her to the forest that she had just seen Bash enter with the other man.

Since Arianna was on foot, she had to keep moving as quick as she could to keep up. Trying to be as quiet as she could, she kept close to the two men on horses straining to hear what they were saying.

"That's Blood Wood? Is that where we're going?" the man asked Bash.

"Would you rather go to jail?" Bash asked the man.

"I might. What do you want from me? What's going on?" the man asked starting to panic.

Bash had moved his horse around to behind the other man's, pulling out a crossbow. "We're not going to meet other soldiers are we?" the man asked again.

"Keep moving. Stop talking." Bash commanded.

Arianna was shocked at what was taking place in front of her. She couldn't understand what Bash was doing and she most certainly could not turn back now, not really remember the way back. Deciding that turning back was not an option, Arianna kept moving forward, wondering what was going to be ahead.

After walking what seemed like ages, Arianna was starting to get tired and it had grown rather dark. Sighing, she was glad when Bash had stopped. However, the scene that was before her was not one she thought she'd witness.

"What are you gonna do to me?" the man asked.

She watched as Bash took a rope and hung it over a tree branch, handing the other end to the man. "Tie it around your feet." Bash ordered.

"My feet? Are you one of those devils of the woods? The ones who spill blood?" the man asked, starting to whimper towards the end of his sentence.

"I said tie your feet and stop talking." Arianna had never heard Bash sound this deadly, this cold.

"Please." The man begged.

"Stop begging. Say your prayers. You have time." Bash told him.

"Time? Time for what?" the man asked, doing as Bash said.

"I need an audience. Or all this will be for not." Bash stated.

"I only stole the money to feed my family. Maybe I deserve to lose a hand but not this!" the man tried to reason with Bash. "My little girl, she's only three. She needs her father to look after her!"

"We all have people to look after." Bash replied coldly.

Arianna heard rustling in the woods around her as the man started to beg Bash for his life. The rustling was getting louder and Arianna was trying her hardest to be quiet. A figure appeared before Bash, however she had not seen where he appeared.

"You threaten someone close to me. Now I need to know. If I kill someone, anyone, even someone as retched at this, my debt will be paid?" Bash asked the figure.

"The conditions are simple. Make the choice and your offering, any human offering, and your debt is paid." The figure said.

Bash had drawn his sword. "Then I choose you."

"Don't pretend this faith is so strange to you." The figure said. "You're betraying your family, bastard born or not."

"Shut up!" Bash shouted.

"It's not just the king's blood in your veins! Your mothers blood is our blood!" the figure told Bash.

Arianna watched as Bash fought the figure and she tried to keep quiet watching Bash fight for his life. She was grateful when Bash got the best of the figure and knocked him to the ground.

"I think you're ignorant." Bash started, "I think the blood lust is in you." Bash plunged his sword through the figure.

"Now it's in you." The figure said before dying.

At the sight of the blood and Bash killing someone, Arianna's breathing had sped up immensely. So much so that Bash heard her breathing.

"Who else is there? I paid my debt!" he shouted into the forest. "Come out and show yourself!"

Terrified of what Bash might do, Arianna stepped out of her hiding place, shaking and cowering in fear.

"Aria?" Bash asked, letting his sword fall to the ground and running over to her.

"Bash…" Arianna whispered as he came up to her. "The blood. There's so much blood." Arianna was now staring at the man that was dead, eyes wide with fear.

"Arianna, look at me." Bash said, forcing her face to look at his. "Are you alright?"

"The blood…" Arianna cried out. "It's everywhere."

"Shh. it's alright. I got you." Bash said, holding Arianna to his chest.

After a few moments, Arianna's breathing had gone back to normal and she snapped out of whatever had her transfixed. She had stayed quiet though. She just watched in silence as Bash released the man he brought into the forest. Bash grabbed her hand and the three walked next to the horses for a bit.

After they had been walking for a while, the sun started to come up, telling the three how long they had been out. Arianna had still kept quiet the whole time. The other man, however, would not shut up.

"In the end, you did nothing wrong. Though I wished I had known what you were planning." The man told Bash.

"Better if you didn't." Bash replied, looking at back at Arianna every few steps.

"Made it more convincing I suppose. Lord knows you convinced me. I'd had done the same in your position. Anything it takes to protect someone I love. But now you don't need to do a thing more." The man said, worry in his last statement.

"And what else would I do exactly?" Bash asked. "After my debt was paid?"

"Nothing." The man replied shortly.

"You think I still mean you harm? Why would that be?" Bash asked, stopping in his tracks, making Arianna run into his back.

"All I meant was, you don't pick your family or their faith. And it doesn't matter whose blood flows through your veins, you choose your own path. Or your kin will. I come from a town where it's better to be protestant but now being so close to the king I'm catholic. Declared, about even." The man prattled on; Bash had started walking again, pulling Arianna behind him.

"How close do you think I am to the king?" Bash asked. "Do you know who I am?"

Arianna knew the answer and she was afraid of it. If he knew who Bash was then he could go running through the town screaming that Bash was heretic and get him burned at the stake. The thought of Bash being burned sent her into a fit, thinking about Bash being hurt and being burned like her family.

"No." the man said too quickly.

"You think that I once shared the faith of the savages, that it was mine. That it was mine and my family's. The family I couldn't pick!" Bash was getting angry, but he kept ahead, keeping Arianna in the middle.

"I don't want anything, I swear. You're the king's bastard." The man confessed.

"And my mother is?" Bash asked.

"Diane de Poitiers." The man said.

Arianna saw that they were near a cliff. She knew she had to do something. She had to protect Bash. She had to protect him like she couldn't protect her family, like she barely protected her brother. She dropped Bash's hand while he still continued forward, not aware that he didn't have her hand yet. Without thinking about what she was doing, she quickly slipped next to the man and pushed him off the cliff.

Bash had turned around at this point and was just staring at her. Her breathing had sped up and she was visibly shaking.

"Aria…" Bash whispered, reaching for her.

At his touch, her wide eyes locked with Bash's concerned ones. "I had to, Bash. He knew too much. He knew who you were. He knew what you did. He could've gone screaming through the town, through the castle, that you were a heretic and he could have you burned. I couldn't let him do that! I couldn't let you die!" Arianna was beginning to get hysterical at this point.

Bash quickly grabbed for her and she went into his arms. "Shh. it's okay. If you hadn't have done it, I would have. I'm sorry that you had to witness all that tonight. I'm so sorry, Aria. Why were you out here anyway?" Bash asked.

"I saw you leaving with the man and Mary had told me a little bit about what happened so curiosity had gotten the better of me and when I realized where you were going, I was too far into the forest to find my way back so I just…" Arianna trailed off.

"I'm sorry. But I am glad you are finally speaking to me again. I've been going crazy with you avoiding me." Bash confessed.

"With my grandmother here, I couldn't let her know what happened between us and then with you and Mary…" Arianna stopped.

"You saw that?" Bash asked shocked. "I didn't mean for you to see that. I didn't mean for anyone to see that. I was drunk and so was Mary and I was thinking about you. I regretted it the instant it happened. I wish I could take it back, Aria. I do. I wanted to be kissing you, not her."

"I know. Mary told me." Arianna said. "There is something else I need to talk with you about. Bash?" Bash was staring at her, not looking like he was listening to her. "Bash? Are you alright?"

Suddenly, Bash leaned his head down and crashed his lips onto hers. At first, Arianna was frozen, but her body's want outweighed her logical thinking, and she kissed him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, while his hand was on her cheek and the other arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. Deepening the kiss, Bash wrapped his hand in her hair and she held onto him tighter. They both pulled apart out of breath and with smiles on their faces. Being bold and not wanting to waste this moment alone, Arianna pulled Bash in for another kiss that sent her whole body into a frenzy. It was as if her body, her senses, every fiber in her being could not get enough of him.

During this time, Arianna had forgotten all about what she needed to talk to Bash about and the troubles that waited for her at the castle. All that was in her mind at this moment was that she belonged to Bash and he belonged to her. No matter how long they didn't speak or how mad they got at each other, this would always be true. She wanted to stay in that moment forever. Be that happy for as long as she lived. However, as soon as they arrived back to the castle, both of their lives would be turned completely upside down at what awaited them there.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21, ladies and gentlemen! I hope you enjoy it and I really enjoy getting so much love from all of you. It makes me so happy. Feel free to leave all the love you want.(: **

When they arrived back to the castle, they went their separate ways. Bash to tell Mary and Francis that the debt was paid, and Arianna to see her grandmother being too wound up for her adventure in the forest and the kisses her and Bash shared to sleep. Entering her chambers, she found a note informing her that Emese had travelled to Paris for a shopping trip. Her exact words were she was getting more suitable clothes for Arianna for when the Bulgarian men arrived. Relieved that she wouldn't have to deal with her grandmother for a few days, she went in search of girls, needed someone to talk to about the mess that was her life at the moment. Especially since she let herself go in the forest with Bash.

Arianna decided before going to see the girls, she needed to clean herself properly. Calling for a bath, she relaxed a little in the hot water and washed away all the evil that found her in the forest, all the bad memories it brought back. After feeling clean, Arianna got dressed and was about to head out on her destination when there was a knock at her door. Opening it, she was surprised who was on the other side.

"Bash?" Arianna had no idea why he was here. It was only midmorning by now but she didn't expect to see him again so soon.

"Aria. I think we need to talk." Bash said entering her room.

"What about?" Arianna asked, though she had a feeling she knew what he wanted to talk about.

"What happened in the forest." Bash stated.

Arianna had moved to sit on her bed. "Oh." Was her reply. Bash raised his eyebrows, signaling for her to say more. "I know that I shouldn't have gotten to upset about the blood and then with killing the man, I just wanted to protect you." She started to ramble on but Bash's eyebrows furrowed together at this.

"That's not the incident I wished to talk about right now. I mean the kiss. However, I do wish to discuss those things as well." Bash told her.

Looking down, she but her lip before speaking. "I shouldn't have done that. It was reckless and stupid—"

"Do you still love me?" Bash interrupted. Arianna's eyes widened at his question.

"What?" was all she could say.

"Aria, do you still love me?" Bash repeated, moving closer to her.

"Why are you asking this, Bash?" she evaded.

"I want to know. Stop evading my question. Do you still love me?" Bash pressed.

She wouldn't look at him. How could she answer this? Of course she loved him. She loved him so much it hurt to be apart. Though, Daymen was coming and if he found out…no. She couldn't let him find out. Who knows what he would do to Bash. She could not let Bash get hurt because of her. She felt his hand under her chin, pulling her face to look at him. He was now standing in front of her with the most heartbreaking look of sadness on his face. She couldn't lie to him, not about this. She could never lie to Bash.

"Arianna?" Bash questioned.

"Yes." She whispered closing her eyes.

"Yes?" Bash repeated.

"Yes is the answer to your question. Yes, I still love you." Tears began to form in her eyes. Quickly, she squeezed them shut so he couldn't see.

"You still love me?" she nodded. "Then why are you acting as if you don't? Why are you pushing me away?"

She shook her head vigorously. She didn't want to explain things. Not now. She had to keep her composure when Daymen arrived and if Bash brought all this stuff up, made her talk about all this right before he arrived, she could never get her composure back.

"You're doing it now!" Bash exhaled clearly frustrated. Throwing his hands in the air, he began pacing around the room. "Why, Aria? You keep pushing me away, and then you'll let me in briefly before you push me even farther away. I can't keep doing this!"

Arianna stayed quiet, watching Bash pace in front of her. She wanted to speak her mind like she always did with him, but this subject was one that he did not understand. He couldn't understand. He'd be so angry with her, she was certain of it. Knowing would put him in danger.

"Why aren't you speaking? You always have something to say! Something else changed you while you were gone. What happened?" Bash demanded, his voice becoming louder.

That made her snap. "My parents died, Bash! Do you think that I would be the same after that? I lost my family, I almost lost my brother. I am now a Queen, something that I never thought I'd be! And it's all my fault! My parents were murdered because—" she stopped midsentence, clasping her hands over her mouth, realizing what she just said.

Bash walked over to her, seeing her eyes wide and her hands over her mouth. "Murdered? I thought it was a fire that killed them? How is it all your fault?" Bash moved closer to her, holding her face in his hands. "Aria, what aren't you telling me?"

Arianna felt the tears spill over. She tried to break free of Bash's hold but she couldn't. His hands felt too good to really try and move from his touch. "I can't tell you. I just can't! You'll be hurt and it'll be my fault! I will not let you get hurt because of me!"

"Aria, look at me. I don't care." Bash said quietly. She looked into his eyes, tears falling from hers. He gently took his thumb and wiped a few of them away. "I love you. Do you hear me? I love you more than anything. You are everything to me and I cannot stand being away from you. It hurts to be apart and I can't stand not being to touch you, hold you, and kiss you. You can trust me don't you know that? You can trust me with anything. I will always be here for you. I will always protect you because I love you."

Hearing this, Arianna began to cry more. Bash moved next to her on the bed and pulled her into his chest. She wrapped her arms around him, holding on so tight she was afraid she might actually be hurting him. She kept shaking her head into his chest, not having the voice to protest in any other way.

Bash's arms were around Arianna so tight he was afraid he might be hurting her, however, he did not let go. If he let go, he didn't know when he'd be able to hold her again. So he held onto to her, as she held him. He buried his face into her hair, remembering how wonderful it felt to be this close to her. He felt her stop shaking her head, and instead of pulling back like he expected, she nuzzled into his chest. Bash chuckled under his breath at this. No matter how much he wanted to stay like this, he needed answers.

"Aria?" Bash started.

"Bash, don't. Can we just stay like this a little longer?" Arianna asked tiredness thick in her voice.

"Of course." Bash whispered, laying his chin on top of her head, stroking her hair.

He didn't know how long they stayed there like that but it must've been a while because he felt her grip start to loosen and her breathing became slow. He looked down to see Arianna asleep, and still holding onto him. He laughed a little at this, he slowly and carefully, not wanting to wake her, moved her to where she was now lying on the bed. He went to move away, but she stirred a little, gripping tighter onto Bash.

"Don't leave, please. Stay with me." Arianna said quietly, trying to open her eyes. "I don't want to have nightmares. Stay with me so I won't. Please?"

Bash couldn't say no to her, he never could. So he pulled the blankets over her, and then lay on top of them. She scooted closer to him, laying her head on his chest.

"Thank you." She whispered, before falling back asleep.

"Always." Bash said, kissing the top of her head. For a while, he sat there, just watching her sleep, enjoying just being next to her again.

He knew that if someone found out he were here, he virtue would be compromised and that it could be horrible for her. Yet, as he was looking down at the girl he loved, he couldn't leave her alone. He could never leave her alone. Bash was slightly upset that he didn't get the answers that he wanted but he knew that she still loved him. That was enough for him. With that hope, Bash could try and get her back. No matter what it takes. With that thought, Bash's eyes started to become heavy and he fell asleep next to her.


	22. Chapter 22

**Here is Chapter 22! Let me know what you think of Bash and Arianna's feelings. Sometimes I wonder if some of it is believable, so just review and tell your opinion. It would be greatly appreciated. **

Arianna was running, running in a forest. She was running as fast as could, trying to get away from something. Looking back, she saw fire behind her, getting closer and closer as it devoured the forest. Turning back around, she started to run faster, if that was possible. She went to pick up her dress to help her run but when she did; she saw that there was blood all over it, and all over her hands. She tried to wipe it off but it didn't work. The blood was still stained on her hands. Not pay attention to where she was going, she tripped over a log and went tumbling down. Looking up, she saw the dead bodies of her parents in front of her. Screaming, she leaped up and started running again. She felt like she had been running forever yet she knew she couldn't stop. Looking back once more, she saw the flames had come a lot closer. Just when she was about to turn around, she ran into something hard, making her come to a stop. Her eyes looked up into the pair of bright blue eyes she feared the most.

"Boo!" Daymen said smirking evilly.

Arianna shot up out of her nightmare, barely able to catch her breath. She had her hand on her chest, trying to calm herself down but it wasn't working. Looking around, she couldn't remember how she got into her bed.

"Aria?" Bash called from behind her.

This caused her to squeal and turn around, fear in her eyes. She hadn't realized he was still there. She just stared at him for a moment, not able to fully shake the nightmare she had just been in.

"Aria? Are you okay?" Bash asked reaching a hand out to her.

"What are you doing here?" Arianna asked taking Bash's hand.

"You don't remember?" Bash asked. Arianna shook her head so he continued. "You fell asleep standing in my arms, exhausted I'm assuming from the night we had, and when I went to put you to bed you asked if I could stay. I meant to leave after you were deep in sleep but I guess I fell asleep, too. Are you okay? I saw that you were having a nightmare and I tried to wake you but I couldn't. You were mumbling and moaning in your sleep. I tried to help but I just couldn't." Bash finished looking defeated.

Arianna saw the way that Bash looked unable to help her. She was sure she'd see that look again when Daymen would come for her. Sighing, she squeezed Bash's hand. She had to make the break now. After everything that happened though, she wasn't sure that was going to be easy.

"You didn't have to stay. If someone found you in here with me—" Arianna started.

"I know, you would have been ruined but I couldn't leave you alone. Not when you asked me to stay with you. I'm sorry I fell asleep. I didn't mean to." Bash started to babble.

Arianna laughed at this. It was one of the things she loved about him.

"What?" Bash asked, a smile appearing on his face.

"You were babbling. It's cute when you babble." Arianna confessed, looking down at their hands intertwined.

"Aria, talk to me. What was your nightmare about? What aren't you telling me?" Bash asked.

Arianna looked out the window; now realizing it must be the middle of the night by the state of the sky. It was dark, only a candle was burning on her vanity. Bash must've lit it when she was having her nightmare. Sighing again, she contemplated telling him everything instead of pushing him away. Not being able to tell him was starting to eat away at her. She couldn't keep this a secret anymore, unable to tell anyone what was weighing on her mind. Making up her mind, she decided that she would tell Bash.

"Bash, there's something I have to tell you. But before I do, I need you to know how I feel about you." Arianna started.

"This doesn't sound good." Bash commented. Arianna shook her head, reaching for Bash's other hand. He gave it to her without objection. She squeezed both his hands before starting her explanation.

"Bash, you know that I love you. That I've always loved you and that I will always love you. Being with you has been the best thing I ever experienced and being away from you kills me. I can't stand not being with you, my body yearns to be close to you. It's irritating actually." Arianna chuckled, looking up to see Bash staring at her intently. "You sent my body into a frenzy when you touch me. It's as if every single part of my body is on fire, but the good kind. When I left, I was so upset that I was leaving you. The only thing that kept me going was that I was going to come back and see you again, so we could be married."

"Why do I sense a but coming?" Bash said quietly moving from Arianna's face to their hands.

Arianna took a deep breath before continuing. "My grandmother had come to Hungary when my father got sick. She was going insane thinking that neither of his children were ready to take the throne if he died. I hadn't told my parents that our engagement was official yet, so therefore, my grandmother did not know. I had mentioned you to my parents but that was all. My grandmother is much like Catherine in the conspiring aspect. Well, she sees things very differently than my parents did. She thought that my brother wasn't ready to take the throne if something happened, so she thought I could do it. If I had a husband who was fit to be king."

"What?" Bash interrupted.

"My grandmother knew that the king in Bulgaria had many sons. So she arranged for one to come meet me, to marry me. I hadn't known this. She did it all on her own. She didn't even tell my parents about it until he arrived. Daymen Draganov. I was very stubborn about getting to know him but I put up with it for my family. He was sweet at first, kind and trying to get my attention. After he thought he had it though, once he knew that my grandmother was on his side pushing towards our marriage, he dropped the act. He may have acted sweet and kind but on the inside, he is pure evil." Arianna paused in her story, trying to stay calm.

"So you are telling me that you were engaged to someone else while we were engaged?" Bash asked getting upset as he was trying to put the pieces together.

"I didn't want to be engaged to him though!" Arianna cried. "I hate him. He is evil, vile, manipulative, arrogant, self-centered. I can't stand him! I tried to tell my grandmother that! I went to her and told her all of this and she didn't care. She told me that I need to suck it up and be Queen. That my parents gave me too much freedom and she would get me back to where I was supposed to be. That's what she's been doing here. Giving me queen lesson so I won't disgrace the family." Arianna said with malice.

"I don't understand." Bash said, confusing knotting his eyebrows together.

"I'm not finished. I told her that I didn't want to be engaged to him, I told her what if I loved someone else and wanted to marry them instead. She slapped me across the face, saying that I was ungrateful. That I need to appreciate what I had and that I shouldn't disobey her. I wanted to talk to my parents about it but since my father was sick, I didn't want to burden them anymore. So I kept quiet for a while. My father was sick for so long I was starting to fear that I would be stuck with Daymen, and I didn't want that. It was right after my father got better, I told my mother of what Emese as doing. She told me that if I didn't want to be engaged to Daymen, that I should tell him and they would figure it out. With my father better, my brother could finish learning how to be King of Hungary and take the throne. So a few days later, I went to Daymen and discussed everything. I told him that he was nice and kind, but that I did not want to marry him and that I wouldn't." Arianna was fidgeting now, playing with the hem of Bash's sleeve.

"What happened, Aria? Did he hurt you?" Bash was starting to get angry. "If he hurt you, so help me, I will make sure it he pays for it."

"No, Bash. He will hurt you. After I told her that I wouldn't marry him, he got very angry. He was upset that his father didn't love him as much as his other children and he was using me to try and get his father's love by getting him another country. He was just using me for my country. He told me that he wasn't going to give up getting Hungary. No matter what. I was hoping that after word got out that I was dead, he would find someone else to marry and he would forget about me by the time he heard I was alive. That, however, is not that case." Arianna explained.

"What do you mean?" Bash asked.

"My grandmother told him that I was alive and invited him here, to French Court. He should be here any day and since my parents are dead, my grandmother has brought it upon herself to reinstate our engagement, not matter how much I protest." Arianna finished.

"So that's why you've been pushing me away? Because of another guy?" Bash had gotten up and was pacing around the room. "So all this time I've been so worried about you, so upset that you didn't love me and you were engaged to someone else?"

Arianna was exasperated. Had he not been listening? "No, Bash! I love you! I don't want to marry him but it seems that there is no way out of it! I am a queen now so apparently I have to do things that I don't want. I didn't want to tell you because I knew how upset you would be."

"Then why didn't you tell me all of this from the beginning? I could've helped you! We could've gone to my father and we could've been married! You know he would've helped us." Bash had stopped pacing and was now standing in front of Arianna, hands on her face.

"I had to make sure that my grandmother didn't find out about us! You saw how she acted when she thought we were only friends. She could use her power to have you hurt!" Arianna had tears in her eyes again. "I have been pushing you away ever since my grandmother told me he was coming because I couldn't handle it if you got hurt! If Daymen were to find out how much you mean to me while he's here, he would have you killed! I can't have you killed because of me." She knew that Daymen was capable of killing to get what he wanted and she wouldn't let Daymen kill Bash.

"Together we can get through this! We can, Aria. Why don't you believe me?" Bash asked his eyes watering as well.

"Bash, I have explained all I can right now. You know how I feel and now you know why I have to do this." Arianna said, stepping away from him.

"Aria, please don't do this. We can solve this, together." Bash whispered stepping closer to her.

Arianna shook her head and stepped away from him again. "Bash, we can't. I can't watch you get hurt because I'm being selfish. This is the last time we can be like this. We will just be acquaintances, nothing more. I think it's time you leave now, Sebastian." Arianna stared at the ground the entire time she spoke, not wanting to see the hurt in his eyes.

She heard him take a deep breath before he spoke. "Fine, Arianna. If that is how it's going to be, then fine. I will not try to come to you again. This will be it."

Arianna did not expect that. She thought he would put up more of fight and that this would have to be dragged out. She looked up, tears falling down her cheeks to see Bash's eyes, cold and indifferent, but with tears in his own eyes. Seeing this, she felt her heart break even more.

Bash looked away from her, walking to the door. She watched his back the whole time, wishing that this wasn't happening. Yet, it was and she was the one who did it. When Bash reached the door, he said something barely above a whisper, but she heard it.

"I'll be waiting for you if you decide to come back to me. I won't wait forever though." And with that, Bash opened the door and walked out of it.

Once the door was shut, Arianna fell to her knees and cried. She had just broken her own heart, and the heart of the man she loved all because of some selfish and malicious man. Daymen Draganov would pay for this. She swore right there that he would pay for everything he had to her. He would pay for it, even if she had to be the one to remove his head from between his shoulders.


	23. Chapter 23

**Here is Chapter 23, all! The next chapter is going to be longer than all the others so be prepared. It's gonna get dark again, then cute, and dark. It goes in a pattern so be wary. Anyways, here it is!**

Arianna was standing on the balcony, with Catherine and Mary, watching King Henry and his men ride of to where ever they were going. She didn't really care at this point. Her grandmother was still gone in Paris, which was a relief to her.

"I don't see Bash." Mary said. "Isn't it the custom for every able bodied man to ride to war with the King?" Arianna felt a pang of hurt in heart when she heard his name.

"It's not war. Just a minor display of temper by some peasants. Oh Sebastian's probably out riding at the front with the king. Men must find something to kill from time to time. It's a pity they can't live harmoniously like women."

Arianna snorted at that statement. They both looked at her. "Harmoniously? Like all of us?"

"Oh I was thinking more of Mary and Olivia." Catherine said, a wicked grin on her face. Arianna rolled her eyes while Mary's expression turned to one of sadness. "What a sweet, generous girl you are. She and Francis can't keep away from each other and you just take it in stride."

"Francis and I have an understanding." Was all Mary said.

"Well that's exactly what I mean. Knowing that another girl has his heart, you just soldier on in serving the alliance." Catherine said.

"I'm sure you have no idea what is really in Francis's heart, Catherine." Arianna snapped. Her whole ordeal with Bash was making her bitter, and more outspoken but not in the good way.

"I know Francis is not the sort to bed a girl that he didn't love." Catherine retorted, turning her attention back to Mary. "I'm so pleased that you've made room for her in your life, as I made room for Diane."

Mary turned and walked away from the other two. Arianna glared at Catherine while she looked triumphant. Arianna then followed Mary while Catherine went her separate way.

"Mary, don't take anything that Catherine says to heart." Arianna said, once she caught up to Mary. "She's just trying to get under your skin, to make you question what Francis feels for you."

"And what is that, Aria?" Mary snapped. "What exactly does Francis feel for me? Because from where I stand, that is nothing."

Arianna wasn't sure how to reply to this, so she kept quiet.

"I'm sorry, Aria. I know that you're trying to help; I just can't stand watching Francis walk around with Olivia like she's his trophy. It's so irritating!" Mary confessed.

"I know, Mary. Just give him time. He'll come around, I'm sure of it." Arianna reassured her.

"Thank you." Mary said, arriving at Francis's door.

Arianna nodded her head and took off in another direction. Here she was, alone again. She hated being alone lately. It left her too much time to think about things she didn't want to think about. She went walking around the castle for a little before deciding to go see the girls. Hopefully they had things they could talk about to make her forget her own troubles. Knocking on the door, she heard Kenna yell for her to come in.

"Aria! So good to see you! I felt like I haven't seen you in ages!" Lola exclaimed getting up to hug Arianna.

"Lola, Kenna, Aylee! It's so good to see you all again." Arianna said, sitting down.

"Where have you been?" Aylee asked.

"My grandmother has been keeping me busy with trying to teach me how to be a proper queen." Arianna sighed.

"Oh well that sounds lovely." Kenna said sarcastically.

Arianna laughed at this. "So tell me, what has been going on with you three? Tell me something to take my mind off of, well, everything."

"Well, Kenna has some interesting piece of news." Lola said, turning to Kenna.

"Oh? And what is that?" Arianna asked intrigued.

"Well, since I've already told the girls, I'm the king's mistress." Kenna announced.

Arianna's eyes went wide. "How on earth did I miss this? The king's mistress, oh wow!"

"The girls had the same reaction." Kenna said. Lola and Aylee looked a little ashamed when she said this.

"Well, Kenna, I only have one question. Are you happy?" Arianna asked, taking Kenna's hands in her own.

"Yes, very happy." Kenna said, getting a dreamy smile on her face.

"Then I am happy for you! I am glad that you have found happiness here, no matter who it is with!" Arianna said honestly.

Kenna grinned and hugged Arianna. "Thank you!"

"Why are you thanking me? It is your choice, and even if I was unsupportive with your choice, who cares? It's your life, not mine." Arianna said smiling.

Lola and Aylee nodded in agreement at this statement.

"Now, tell me. Is he a good lover?" Arianna said with a wicked grin on her face.

"Aria!" Aylee said while they all laughed.

Just then, they heard shuffling outside. Arianna signaled for them to stay quiet for a minute while she looked out the door. She did not recognize the guards that were moving in quite large groups outside the door. Quickly and quietly shutting the door, Arianna turned back to the girls.

"What is it, Aria?" Aylee asked.

"I think we lost the castle." Arianna said, a hint of fear in her voice.

It was some time later that Kenna was complaining about being hungry. Not wanting her to go down alone, Arianna offered to go with her. They were coming into the dining hall when the noticed quite a few men, obviously a little drunk, sitting around eating.

"Where are you going, pretty one?" a blonde haired man asked, standing up in front of Kenna.

She gave him a look of disgust. "Excuse me."

"Why in such a hurry?" he asked, throwing his arms out to block Kenna from moving.

"And who are you?" Kenna asked.

"You'll find I'm very good company." The man said, trying to be seductive but just sounding creepy. "Not like these dogs."

Kenna scoffed and tried to push by him but he grabbed her and pushed her against the table.

"Get your hands off her!" Arianna shouted. "Or you'll have me to deal with."

"And who are we dealing with, girl?" another man said, standing up.

"I am Arianna Kurt, Queen of Hungary, and you will unhand her immediately." Arianna commanded. "Or I will have to hurt you and you won't like that." Her voice had turned deadly.

The man still holding Kenna laughed as Kenna was trying to tell him who she was and held onto her tighter. Arianna was about to jump in when Mary walked into the room.

"Let her go." She commanded. "I'm the Queen of Scotland and that is my lady. Kenna go upstairs."

"She's fine here." The blonde man said.

"Is something wrong, your grace?" the count asked stepping into the room.

"We're just having a bit of fun with this one. She's the king's whore." The blonde man said.

"Soldiers must have their indulgences." The count said. Arianna wanted to hit him for that.

"Of course, Count, you know best. It's just; Lady Kenna would be so much more useful to me upstairs. Indeed, now that you are master of this castle, I humbly ask that my Scottish ladies and I retire to my chambers while you're negotiating with the French. By your mercy." Mary said sweetly.

"I suppose queens must also have their indulgences. I trust that in return you and your ladies will join us for the feast this evening. My man and I will enjoy the best at King Henry's table before we go." The count said. "Do not let the rough manners of my man disturb you. My word as a gentlemen, you will not be harmed."

"Thank you, Count. Of course we will be there. I am so grateful for your protection." Mary said. "Kenna." She called.

Arianna went to leave but the count stopped her. "Wait. Who is this?"

"Arianna Kurt, Queen of Hungary. I'm sorry for the disruption that was caused. I was only trying to protect Queen Mary's lady, as I know she would not want her harmed. Please forgive me for causing any trouble." Arianna said, curtsying to the count.

"Ah, the Queen From the Dead. How wonderful to see you well." The count said, revealing the new nickname Arianna had received. "I just hope that my men did not cause you any trouble."

"Oh no. Of course not. Count, may I be so bold as to ask if I may help Mary and her ladies? They have become dear friends of mine and I'm sure Mary wouldn't mind sharing her ladies with me for the time being." Arianna said sweetly.

"That would be very nice, Count. If you permit it." Mary said, looking coy.

"It will be no trouble. Arianna, please join us for the feast tonight as well. I would love to have two Queens sitting with us tonight. I give you my word as well Arianna, that my men will not hurt you." Count said.

"I would be honored to be at the feast. Thank you." Arianna said curtsying, following Mary and Kenna out of the room.

All three of them hurried back to Mary's chambers. None of them had seen Greer all day.

"What happened to Greer?" Aylee asked. "Do you think the Italians took her?"

There was a knock at the door after Aylee finished her question. All of them were shocked to see Greer come in with a tray, dressed like a servant.

"Your Grace." Greer said, bowing to Mary and Arianna.

When the door closed, they all rushed over to her.

"Greer are you alright?" Lola asked.

"I've been in the kitchen." Greer confessed.

"Why are you dressed as a servant?" Kenna asked, a little amused by her dress.

"Servants are invisible. I thought I'd be safe as one so I borrowed some clothes." Greer said.

"So you're actually working in the kitchen?" Kenna asked.

"Trying to work. Making rather a mess of it." Greer said, looking down. "What's going on here? Are you all right?"

"For the moment." Arianna started. "All we can do is wait to find out if the Queen and Francis strike a bargain with the Count."

Mary stepped forward. "But I have never been good at waiting."

Arianna shook her head. "Neither have I."


	24. Chapter 24

**I have to apologize for this taking so long! I had no intention of this. The first two days I tried to upload, there was a problem and the document wouldn't upload to the site and then I was without internet. I apologize greatly for this. Anyways, here is the chapter that you've all been waiting for. **

Mary had explained her plan to Arianna and the girls. How they were going to go to feast, feign some sort of problem to allow them to leave and then sneak out of the castle through the passageways. Arianna was all for the plan, thinking that it was the best thing they had at the moment. Lola, Kenna and Aylee on the other hand, weren't as easy to convince.

"Mary I can't do it." Kenna said pacing. "Think of how angry they'll be when they discover they've been tricked."

"We'll be gone before they do." Mary said.

"What if it doesn't work?" Aylee asked. "What if he doesn't believe you?"

There was knock at the door and then Catherine entered. She looked a little bit shaken as well. Something that the girls were now used to seeing.

"I know what you're thinking. It's what any woman would think. But I've come to tell you not to be afraid. I'll be there when you enter the room and I'll be there when you leave. Get through this night and these men will be gone from your lives." Catherine said, trying to reassure everyone.

"And suddenly you care about us?" Lola demanded.

"Lola, she wants to help. To shield us from these evil men." Arianna said, surprised that she was defending Catherine.

"Please, when has the French Court not been full of evil men and women. Since we got here, we've been lied to by people who smile and say pretty things while they stab us in the back. At least these men don't pretend to be our friends." Lola said.

"I agree with Lola." Kenna piped in. "You come in here mouthing platitudes but you have no idea what this is like. To have a target on your back."

"I know exactly what this is like!" Catherine said, moving closer to everyone. "When I was eight years old rebels stormed the Florentine Palace. Both my parents were already dead, but my name and my family's fortunes made me a target."

"At eight years old?" Kenna asked.

"War doesn't spare children. I was held hostage for years! Until finally they had to decide what to do with his Medici girl. Many of the soldiers men, just like these, they demanded that I be turned over to them so that they would..." Catherine stopped momentarily. "So that I would be shared. And I can still hear their laughter outside the Conant. That sickening laughter."

"What happened?" Aylee asked.

"The nuns and I prayed. We prayed for God to send the Pope and his armies to retake the city and rescue me in time. And then one day, the laughter stopped. It grew quiet. And I stepped out into the sunlight, over their bodies and Pope Clemet welcomed me into his arms. I emerged intact and so will you if you have faith." Catherine finished.

The girls finished getting ready for the feast and made their way downstairs. Mary and Arianna sat on either side of the Count and Mary's ladies sat next to her, except Kenna who sat next to Arianna and Catherine. Catherine was at the head of the table, presenting the Count and his men with a chest of gold.

"Gentlemen, please. My gift to you!" Catherine announced, opening the chest and taking her seat.

All the Counts' men went to the gold, being greedy and taking handfuls with them to their seat. The clock struck, letting the ringing of the hour hang in the air, signaling that Francis was getting his part of the plan taken care of. The girls were eating and chatting as if nothing were going on. It was working rather well. Arianna had taken to staring at the hourglass that Catherine turned over when she took her seat though. She had no idea why she turned it but she knew it had some sort of significance. Arianna just hoped that she would live to figure out what that was.

Arianna then saw Mary lean over and whisper to the Count about the problem with her corset that was completely made up. The Count suddenly got very uncomfortable with this.

"Perhaps you should retire until the crisis is averted." The Count said.

"Thank you, Count. It's so difficult without servants. My ladies will attend me." Mary said, standing and taking the girls with her. Arianna sat there, watching the girls leaving. She knew that her part would be coming soon. However, not being a servant, she couldn't leave with Mary. After some time had passed, Arianna leaned over to the Count.

"Excuse me, my lord. It seems that I am bit, light headed from all this excitement. I'm sorry, but after what happened, I'm still not myself." Arianna said, feigning dizziness and distress.

"Oh, of course. Maybe some fresh air would do you some good?" the Count offered.

"Thank you very much, my lord. I'm just not used to being around such a handsome looking man and having all this excitement about. Please excuse me." Arianna said trying to flirt a little so the Count wouldn't be too suspicious.

The Count merely smiled and waved her off, continuing a conversation with a man across the table. Arianna quickly hurried to where she was to meet Mary and her ladies at the panel. When she arrived, she saw Mary knocking desperately at the panel.

"Hurry!" Arianna said, rounding the corner.

"It only opens from the inside!" Mary said banging on the panel now. "Olivia! Olivia!"

"What's wrong?" Kenna asked. "Why isn't she answering?"

"Stupid girl. She must've gotten scared and left. Left us here to die. If Catherine doesn't kill her for this, I will. I'm dying because of that bitch." Arianna said. All the girls looked over at her. "What?" They all shook their heads and Mary kept trying at the panel.

Realizing that there was no way they could get through, they stopped trying. Just then, a man rounded the corner.

"Count Vincent sent me to find you." The man said.

"Ah, yes. I met Mary and her ladies in the hall and we decided to walk back together. We were just headed that way." Arianna said grabbing the man's arm, distracting him from the commotion that Mary was just making. Turning back, she saw the girls throw her relieved looks and she just nodded.

As they entered the dining hall, Catherine looked furious and leaped up from her chair before they could sit back down.

"Count Vincent, isn't this enough?" Catherine said, motioning to the gold in the chest. When she didn't get a reply, she shut it. "You know the king will go to war for his heirs."

"What of it?" the Count said flippantly. "Can Henry give me the life I had a year ago? Then let the heavens fall. Enough. Thank you for this generous feast. Now we will be on our way." Count Vincent and his men stood up from the table.

Catherine, panicking, went over to the Count. "Please, please do not take my children. What else can I give you? Do you want women? Take them. Take their virtue!"

"Catherine, no!" Mary yelled.

"You liar!" Kenna shouted.

"They won't dare say a word about it, they'd be ruined! You can have anything you—"

The Count cut Catherine off. "Give me your heart then! Carve it out and hand it to me so that we might understand one another. That is diplomacy. To understand my loss! To carry the weight of your dead heart with you every night and day until you find your grave! Roberto. Give me Roberto. And I will let your children live."

The Count walked over to Mary as if he was stalking his prey. "Forgive me, Mary. For I am not a gentle man."

Men, being thrown around by them, took all the girls. They were all trying to fight them all. Arianna was struggling too much for ones liking so he struck her across the face. Getting angry, she pulled a dagger from behind her back, one she always kept there every since the incident with her parents, and drove it into his chest. No one seemed to notice in the flurry of what was happening.

"Count Vincent." Catherine said calmly, but he did not pay attention to her. "Count Vincent!" this time she yelled slamming the hourglass on the table. "Do you know why your son is dead? Because of you! Because unlike me, you aren't willing to pay the necessary price. So I'll make you a new offer. Take your hands off of Mary and I'll let you leave this castle with your life."

Suddenly, the Counts' men were starting to bleed from their ears and nose, and one by one they dropped like flies. Arianna was relieved at this; no one would see what she did. However, there was blood all over her gown, the man's blood she had just killed. Even though it was to save her, she couldn't believe she killed someone else so easily.

"No. We ate the same food, we drank my wine." The Count said confused by this turn of events.

"Poison is art and the essence of art is surprise." Catherine said.

"The gold." Arianna realized now knowing why Catherine started the hourglass at the beginning of the feast.

"I never touched your gold, Medici bitch!" the Count yelled, drawing his sword and going towards Catherine.

At the same time, Mary stabbed the Count in the throat with a fork while Arianna stabbed him in the back with her dagger. They both looked at each other wide eyed and shocked that they did that.

Francis then leaped out of nowhere and cut the Counts' hand off, the one holding his sword.

"Your son awaits you." Francis said.

"It's alright, Kenna." Lola said. "Catherine saved us."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Aylee asked as Catherine came over to check Kenna.

"Well I learned long ago that only a secret known by one person remains a secret. And of course, I wasn't sure it would work." Catherine confessed.

Mary came over and hugged Kenna. "Kenna I'm so sorry."

"I'll be all right." Kenna said crying.

"I'll take her to the infirmary." Francis said. "Here, come with me. Take my arm. It's all right."

"That could've me. Or worse." Mary said looking at the Count. "Why did you stop the Count? Why didn't you just him finish me off? Ruin my chances of marrying Francis."

"You risked your life for my son. Perhaps I owed you a moment of respect." Catherine said.

Arianna tuned out the rest of the conversation, going into shock from all the blood. She still couldn't stand the sight of so much blood. Not since her parents… No. She wouldn't allow herself to think of that. She had to breath and stay calm. She lifted her hands and saw all the blood on them and couldn't take it anymore. She collapsed to the ground, eyes wide with fear and her breathing was too quick to be normal.

"Lola, is she okay?" Mary asked.

"I don't know what happened. She just fell to the ground." Lola said.

"Come on, Aria. Let's get you to your room." Mary said. Arianna looked up and just nodded allowing the girls to lead her to her chambers. She dismissed the girls, assuring them she was fine just to be alone. However, this didn't last long because only a few moments later Bash burst through the door.

"Arianna!" Bash said relieved. "You're all right."

Arianna turned around, looking frightened and shocked but seeing it was Bash in her room, she looked a little relieved. Bash noticed the mark on her face and ran over to her. Lightly he rubbed his thumb over the slight bruise only to have her flinch under his touch.

"Aria, I'm so sorry I wasn't here to help you." Bash said.

"I thought you went off with your father?" Arianna questioned.

"I had enough killing and stayed behind. I was in the dungeons. The entire time I was worried about you." Bash confessed.

"Why are you here? Not that I'm complaining really, but you said that you wouldn't come back to me." Arianna said, looking into Bash's eyes for an answer.

"I know what I said but this is different. I had to make sure you were safe. Why is there blood covering your clothes?" Bash questioned, finally taking in her full appearance.

Arianna opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She looked down at her hands and faced them up so he could see the blood all over them.

"Aria?" Bash asked.

"I killed again, Bash. Without thinking, I just killed him." Arianna said quietly.

"Please say it was the man who did this to you because if it wasn't then I have something I need to do." Bash said, carefully studying Arianna.

"It was him. And then the Count. Well, Mary and I killed him. She stabbed him the neck and I stabbed him in the back to his heart. But I killed again, Bash. It came so naturally to me. Without thinking, I pulled out my dagger and just stabbed him. What's wrong with me?" Arianna asked, looking up at Bash.

"Oh, love. There is nothing wrong with you." Bash said, hugging her. He knew that he had said he was going to leave her be until she was ready but he just couldn't. Not with this. The entire time in the dungeon, he was filled with worry that she was being hurt or worse, those men were having their way with her. These thoughts filled him with rage and worry and as soon as he was freed, he ran straight to find her. He knew keeping his distance would be hard but it was much harder than he had imagined. Her crying had ceased and he then realized he had seen her cry more in a week than he had the entire time he's known her. She was usually so happy and filled with life. Yes, he knew that her parents were dead but he thought the girls were helping her and bringing the life back to her. Obviously there had to be something else troubling her deeply and hopefully, in time, she would tell him everything.

Arianna pulled back and looked away from Bash. He watched her as she stood there, trying to look anywhere but his face.

"Aria, why don't you get out of these clothes and into something less…dirty." Bash said, noticing that her being covered in blood wasn't helping anything.

"Bash, even though I am upset, you are not going to get me out of my clothes." Arianna quipped, a slight smile on her lips even thought she was upset.

He smiled at her comment, enjoying that even though she was upset and trying to push him away, she still was able to be herself and joke with him.

"I didn't mean it like that. Come on, I'll help you until it becomes improper." Bash offered.

Arianna thought this over a little bit, then agreed, knowing that she would need his help to get out of the corset, no matter how inappropriate. She nodded, then went over to her trunk and pulled out her nightgown and flung it over the changing screen. Walking back over to Bash, she pushed the sleeves of her dress farther down her shoulders, revealing a good portion of her back. She pulled her long hair over to one shoulder to allow him to see the corset fully. Bash moved forward carefully, noticing how smooth her skin looked in the dim candlelight. Slowly, he moved his fingers down the laces of her corset until he reached the bottom. Pulling on the strings, he loosened them carefully, going all the way up with this motion making sure they were loose enough for her to remove it herself. When he reached her upper back, a few strains of her hair had fallen from over her shoulder and he played with the ends of it. Grabbing them, he pushed the strands of hair back over her shoulder, rubbing her skin with his fingers.

Arianna shivered at his touch, feeling heat where his fingers made contact with her skin. She looked over her shoulder and saw how close Bash was to her. His chest was almost flush with her back now and his face was only inches from hers now that she looked back. They stared at each other for along while before Arianna broke the silence.

Clearing her throat a little, she stepped behind the changing screen and began to strip her clothes off. Even though he could not see her, Arianna could tell her was watching her shadow intently and that made her a little nervous.

Bash exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding when he watched her walk away. As she was changing, he could see her silhouette behind the screen and all he wanted to do was go back there and make Arianna his so no one could have her. He was certain that something was going to happen to her while he was trapped and that made him crazy. He couldn't have someone else have her when she was his. She would always be his, just as he was hers.

Fully dressed again, Arianna came out from behind the screen and stayed a good distance away from Bash.

"Thank you for checking on me and helping me, Bash. It was very kind of you." Arianna said, a little formally trying not to show how flustered he had made her.

Bash saw right through this however, and chuckled. "I will always check on you and make sure you are safe and sound, Aria. And as for helping you, the pleasure was all mine."

Arianna blushed a deep red at this. Bash laughed out loud at this. He walked over to her, and grabbed her hand.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you, Aria. I really am. I should've been there to save you. I am glad that you were able to save yourself though. I will be here whenever you are ready to talk and wish to be mine again." Bash said, kissing Arianna's hand. "Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, Bash." Arianna said watching Bash leave her room. When he left, she threw herself onto her bed, wanting nothing more than to follow him to his.

However, she couldn't do that. She had been doing so well with keeping away from Bash and now this set her back to the beginning. Sighing, she snuggled into her pillows, surprised to find that Bash's scent was still in the one he slept on the other night, smiling, she held onto that pillow tightly, inhaling his scent. Soon, she was asleep, dreaming about a night she could never have with Bash, forgetting all about what happened earlier.


	25. Chapter 25

**I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update now, I was doing so well for so long. I've hit a snag in writing, accidentally writing something that already happened so I have to fix chapters I've already written. That's what I get for writing continuously without rereading the old ones. But here is chapter 25! I hope you all enjoy! Things are going to get interesting soon.**

The next day, there was a ton of commotion going on at the castle. It was announced that the Tudor Queen of England was dying and that some people think Mary is the next rightful heir to England. This information made King Henry extremely happy, so happy in fact that he said it was time that Francis and Mary were finally wed. Mary had doubts about this but Francis had calmed her in this. Now, the girls were all laying around, listening to Mary talk about what had transpired between her and Francis.

"We're so happy for you!" Arianna said with a huge grin on her face.

Mary laughed and then looked at Lola. "Lola, what about you?"

"I'm pleased but I just, I want you to be safe. I want you to be sure." Lola started. "England is an enormous risk. Are you taking that risk for us, your people, or for the man you love?"

"My duty is to Scotland, and soon to France. I will make the decision my conscious dictates. Francis knows that." Mary explained.

"But the King's orders?" Aylee pointed out.

"What the King doesn't know what hurt him." Mary said.

"He'd defy his father for you?" Greer asked.

"For us, his people. He's a good man. I'm going to marry him tomorrow night." Mary announced.

"Tomorrow?" Arianna was shocked.

"But what will you wear?" Greer asked.

The girls laughed at this and then Aylee spoke up. "But what about your mother? She won't be here."

"I have all of you!" Mary said excitedly. "You're my real family."

Arianna smiled, grateful that she had made friends like this in French Court. Greer came running over with a hairbrush.

"Mary, come. Let's try different things with your hair." Greer said as Mary sat up so Greer could brush it.

"Up or down? What do you think?" Aylee asked.

"Depends on the veil." Lola said.

"I think down. Mary has gorgeous hair." Arianna said, playing with the pieces that were over her shoulders. All the girls laughed and continued to play with Mary's hair.

"Arianna, when is your grandmother supposed to be back?" Aylee asked.

Arianna sighed. "Either later today or tomorrow whichever, it is too soon for my liking."

Lola laughed. "Oh yes. She seems like a wonderful woman."

"Okay, Aria. We have been dying to know, what is going on with you and Bash?" Kenna asked and all the girls nodded eagerly, turning and looked at her. Mary gave Arianna a look, wondering if she'd fess up to why nothing could happen.

Arianna sighed and looked down. "There is nothing going on between Bash and I." she saw the girls look at her skeptically. "Not now, anyway."

"What happened?" Greer asked.

"Well, I guess I can tell all of you now since my destiny is supposed to be arriving soon. I am engaged to be married to someone else and he will be here soon. I'm not sure how soon but it has to be only a day or two before he arrives." Arianna sighed.

All the girls looked shocked at this. Lola decided to let the information she knew to come out.

"But you're engaged to Bash!" Lola exclaimed.

Arianna's eyes widen at this. "How do you know that?"

"You're engaged to Bash?" Aylee asked, waiting for confirmation.

"If you really are engaged to him, why are you going to marry someone else?" Mary asked.

Arianna was still staring at Lola, waiting for her to explain how she knew that. "I'm sorry I just blurted that out. Bash told me when he got hurt riding to Calais. You had fallen asleep and I asked Bash what was going on with you two and he told me the story of when he proposed to you." Lola explained, all the girls staring at her.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew earlier?" Arianna asked.

"There was never a good time." Lola told her.

"So it's true then?" Kenna asked.

"Yes, it's true. Bash and I were engaged to be married when I was here before." Arianna told them.

"Well, tell us what happened!" Aylee encouraged. Mary looked at her with a look of sadness while Greer and Kenna looked excited to hear this story.

"Who else knew of your engagement?" Kenna asked.

"Henry, Diane, and Francis. Bash had talked to his parents about it, getting their help with picking out a ring." Arianna pulled out the ring at this moment. "I had planned to tell my parents when I was to go back to Hungary in the next few weeks, talk to them so they could come meet Bash. Before I could do that, my father had fallen very ill. It was only a few days after he asked when I found this out, so I told Bash I'd come back for him. That as soon as my father got well, I'd tell my parents and I'd come back for him." Arianna took a deep breath before continuing.

"My father was sick for longer than expected. My grandmother came during this and since my brother, Nikola, wasn't ready to take the throne just yet, I would have to if my father could not recover. Not being married and with no prospects in Hungary, my grandmother took it upon herself to find a husband for me. That's when Daymen Draganov, the Prince of Bulgaria showed up. My grandmother had told me that he and I would be wed the minute my father died. I don't know how she was more obsessed with my personal life than her own child dying. Either way, I just went along with it, hoping that my father would recover soon. The only reason we were to be married was if my father died, so if he were to get better, it would be called off."

"Daymen was sweet at first. Being kind and trying to get my approval of him but he wasn't going to get it. I wanted to be married to Bash. I was only going along with it to keep my parents from unneeded stress. He was becoming more and more, angry. He as starting to show how he really was. He just wanted to have a country to rule. He was third in line and he would never have his own country so when my grandmother brought up the chance to wed me and rule Hungary, he leapt at it. Then, my father started showing signs of getting better and I was being more distant, excited that I could go back to Bash. Once my father was deemed fully recovered and in perfect health, I told Daymen that our engagement was off. He wasn't happy about this. He told me that we had an agreement and he would get my country and he would make sure that he would have it, one way or another. I told him it wasn't happening and that he could go to hell. I guess he went to my grandmother and she said that we would be wed either way, and I said no we weren't. She kept telling me that I needed to be wed, I was older than what was required to be wed so I would be and the country would have a better king than now. She never liked the way my father ruled. He ruled fairly, and let his children have more freedoms than most. She hated this. So I think this was her chance to fix her country, I'm not sure."

"So what happened?" Aylee asked.

"I told my parents about Daymen and how I didn't want to marry him. I told them of Bash and how he proposed and that I wanted them to come meet him and King Henry. They were happy for me and my father said he would make mine and Bash's engagement official, as long as he approved of the man I picked. I was ecstatic. Word had not gotten out of the disengagement of Daymen and I yet; my grandmother was still trying to fight for us being wed. She had gone to Bulgaria to discuss it. Two days later, my castle was set ablaze by an unknown cause, almost killing myself and killing my parents." Arianna finished.

"Oh my god." Greer said.

"Oh, Aria." Mary hugged Arianna.

"You don't think that Daymen had anything to do with this do you?" Kenna asked.

"Kenna, don't suggest that a royal would kill another royals family." Aylee said.

"No, Aylee, don't scold Kenna." Arianna said, pulling away from Mary. "It does look suspicious."

"We can't allow you to marry such a vile person! If he treated that badly just to get a country, imagine how he'll act once you're married! You deserve to be happy now!" Lola said.

"I can't have that luxury. I'm queen. I have to wed for title and status now. Not for love." Arianna said.

"Bash would make a wonderful husband, and I'm sure with Henry's help, he could make a good king." Mary said.

"Wait, does Bash know about Daymen?" Lola asked.

"He knows." Arianna sighed. "I just, I don't know."

"I'm so sorry, Aria." Greer said.

"Maybe there is something that can still be done!" Aylee said enthusiastically.

"There isn't anything that can be done." Arianna put her head in her hands.

Sighing, the girls just frowned at her, not wanting this life for Arianna. Daymen was coming and the life she had come accustomed to would be over.


	26. Chapter 26

**Here is Chapter 26! I'm going to try to get them out faster now so for not updating for so long, here is another chapter. I hope you all enjoy it! Reviews make my day.(:**

Later that day, Mary and the girls were gathered around Arianna's window, keeping watch for her grandmother while Mary was telling them about what Nostradamus had told her.

"None of us will die, it's nonsense." Greer said, "Nostradamus said I'd fall in love with a man with a white mark on his face and that never happened."

"Have you fallen in love at all?" Arianna asked.

"You disappear for hours, where do you go?" Lola asked her.

"He said I'd never go home again. It haunts me still." Aylee said from her place on the floor.

"That was his intention." Greer told her. "Nostradamus likes to scare people, he's the Queen's watch dog."

"Well we can't trust her. Maybe this is her last attempt to keep you from Francis." Lola addressed Mary with this statement.

"Or she was trying to keep me from Francis to save his life. I don't know if there's any truth to this prophecy but the Queen and Nostradamus seem to believe what he's saying." Mary said conflicted.

"What do you believe?" Arianna asked her. "You said you couldn't sleep for days after you saw Tomas's banner unfell. It was dragon, as Nostradamus predicted."

"The lion and the dragon will fight on a field of poppies." Mary said repeating the phrase Nostradamus had told her.

"The lion being the English. That Tomas's soldiers sailed off to confront." Aylee pointed out.

"Sailors on the sea." Greer corrected. "So where was this field of poppies?"

"You're right." Mary said. "But Tomas fought his real battle, the one he fought himself, in the forest."

"There were poppies everywhere at that time." Arianna said, remembering seeing them all over the place. "All through the woods."

"Where Tomas was slain by Francis and Bash." Mary said.

"Well, you can always go ask them if there were poppies there. I'm sure they'd remember." Arianna told her. "Come on. Bash is down at the stables."

"And how do you know that?" Lola asked as Arianna and Mary headed for the door.

"I saw him walk down there a little while ago and I happened to be watching him until he got to his destination." She confessed. "Oh don't look at me like that. I know I need to keep my distance but I can still look."

The girls laughed as Mary and Arianna left for the stables. All the way down, they both were quiet lost in their own thoughts. When they reached the stables, Bash was standing just outside brushing his horse tied to a hitching post. He captivated Arianna, so much so that she didn't hear Mary speaking. She only zoned back into reality when Bash spoke.

"You know how Tomas died." He said. "And yes there were poppies there in full bloom."

"That's an odd thing to remember." Mary said.

"The mind focuses on small things when faced with the larger horror of taking a life." Bash told her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." Mary said. "To tell the truth I'm probably just looking for connections that aren't there."

"To what end?" Bash asked her. "Did Nostradamus tell you something you hope is true?"

"No." was all Mary replied.

Arianna watched as Bash moved from next to his horse to the other side of the hitching post to stand closer to them.

"I've known him many years. He's right more than he's wrong. And when he's wrong I often wonder if we've misinterpreted what he said and he's too cautious to argue otherwise." Bash explained. "Tomas's symbol was the dragon. Self-imported but self-chosen."

"And the lion was the English of course?" Mary asked but Arianna knew better. She knew the truth but didn't want to say anything in front of Mary's ladies to alarm them.

"As I said, Tomas chose his own symbol. It's what we bastard born do as technically we belong to no one." Bash said picking up his sword. "Allowing me to chose the lion for myself." He showed her the hilt of his sword.

"Is the sword you fought Tomas with?" Mary asked urgently.

"A fight to the death in a field of poppies." Bash said.

Mary looked shocked before quickly excusing herself and running towards the castle. Arianna stayed where she was however, trying to decide if now was the time she could talk to Bash.

"Aria, you knew this. How come you didn't tell Mary before?" Bash asked her.

"There is something Nostradamus has predicted. Well, two things actually. Mary, her ladies, and I were discussing his prophecies and I didn't want to frighten them." Arianna told him, coming to the other side of his horse to pet it.

"What is it he has predicted?" Bash asked carefully watching Arianna. She was smiling as she was petting his horse as it still remembered her and nuzzled into her hand.

"He told her this morning that by the time the next frost melts, one of her ladies will be dead." Arianna told him, her smile vanishing and a look of worry replacing it. "I couldn't very well tell them that he was true and that one of them would die in a day!"

"Yes, I see your point. I'm sorry." Bash apologized, not really knowing why he was apologizing.

"No need to apologize, Bash." Arianna waved him off. She bit her lip before looking up at him. They had not spoken to each other since she told him that she was engaged to someone else.

Bash was just watching Arianna, hoping that she would tell him everything she had been hiding. He kept his word, he had not sought her out since their talk but it was killing him.

She was about to speak when she heard horns announcing the return of her grandmother. Knowing that her presence would be expected, this talk would have to wait again.

"Oh, great. The wicked witch returns." Arianna muttered. Bash chuckled at this. "I must go and greet her. I'll see you later, though?" she asked, hoping he would say yes.

"Of course." Bash reassured her, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Good. I can't wait." She told him winking. "Until later then."

"Until later, my lady." Bash said as he watched Arianna walk away from him.


	27. Chapter 27

**Drum roll please! The moment that you have all been waiting for, and dreading is finally here! The arrival of the Draganov's! Everything is going to change and it's going to get interesting. I hope you all enjoy this and let me know what you think of them. I'd love to know! **

It was the night that Francis and Mary were supposed to be wed and Arianna was excited to have a reason to get away from her grandmother. She had not seen Bash since the stables and she was a little disappointed. She hated admitting that but it was true. She had planned on going and seeing Kenna in the infirmary with the other girls but her grandmother had her running around trying to look presentable and be perfect. It was exhausting and Arianna was ready for a break.

She had just left her grandmother's chambers and was walking down the hall when she rounded a corner and heard it. There was a deep coughing coming from somewhere and she couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Stopping to listen, she heard it from upstairs, near where she was. She was walking down a hallway when she heard a cup shatter. Quickening her pace, she came to a staircase to see Aylee at the base of the stairs, bleeding profusely from the head. Screaming so loud a servant ran toward her, she flew down to Aylee's head to put it in her lap.

Seeing the servant, Arianna barked to go get someone and make sure to get Mary. The servant merely nodded before taking off.

"Aylee it's going to be okay. I'm not going to let you die." Arianna said, tears falling down her face.

The other girls were there in no time, circling around her and Arianna knew that this is what Nostradamus saw. Mary and Francis were running towards Arianna finally and she could tell Aylee was just barely holding on.

"I found her like this. I sent for the girls and thinking you were with them." Arianna said.

Mary got on her knees next to Arianna and Aylee. "Aylee." Mary reached out for her face.

"He said I'd never go home again." Aylee said.

"Aylee, shh." Mary said, trying to comfort her.

"Too much blood." Aylee sputtered out. She tried to form other sentences but nothing came out clearly. "Must go home now." Was the last thing she said before she died in Arianna lap.

All the girls cried as Aylee's head fell back and her eyes shut. Mary stood up crying, wiping the blood on her hands all over the front of her dress only to turn and see Nostradamus standing by a window.

"You were sent from hell." Mary said to him. "You're the devil!"

Francis walked over to her to comfort her but she just pushed him away and cried harder. Servants came to Arianna to take Aylee away even though all the girls protested, trying not to believe that their friend was dead. Arianna stood up and had to go find Bash. She had to tell him what happened and confess everything to him. Death kept happening around her and she couldn't let it happened anymore. In her distraught state, she thought that if Bash knew everything maybe he really could protect her.

Arianna found Bash quietly talking to his mother in a hallway. Not caring that she was interrupting, she ran over to both of them.

"Bash!" she called out, getting the attention of Bash and Diane.

"Arianna? Why is there blood all over you?" Diane asked concerned.

"It's Aylee. She's dead." Arianna said, tears still falling down her face.

Bash turned to his mother, giving her a look.

"Just promise you'll go today." Diane pleaded.

"We'll talk later, mother." Bash told her before turning his attention to Arianna.

"She's dead, Bash. I found her and she died in my arms. Why does everyone keep dying?" Arianna cried.

"Shh. Come on, lets get out of this hallway." Bash said, putting his arm around her and taking her to his room.

When the arrived, he led her over to the nearest chair, sitting her down and standing in front of her. On the walk, Arianna's mind was racing with thoughts but the one that stood out to her was what Diane had said to Bash before they went their separate ways.

"Bash, where are you going?" Arianna asked scared that she was losing him, too.

"No where, Aria. My mother just worries too much. I'm not going anywhere." Bash reassured her. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not. Everyone keeps dying around me. Why does everyone keep dying? Do I bring death? Why is this happening?" Arianna was hysterical, and Bash didn't know how to handle this very well.

"Oh, Aria. It's not you. I'm so sorry that this is happening to you." Bash was holding Arianna's hands in his own.

When he saw the tears start, Bash pulled her into his chest without a second thought. He knew this was a hard time for her and all he could at this moment was be there for her, just as he wished he could've been when her parents died. Stroking her hair with one hand and rubbing her back with the other, Bash murmured sweet things into Arianna's ear to try to make her feel better.

After a few moments, Arianna's crying had subsided and she pulled away from Bash's chest. She felt his hold around her tighten, telling her that he wouldn't let her leave his arms. Her eyes were sparkling with the tears she had shed, her cheeks were bright red and her lips were swollen. Even like this, Bash couldn't deny that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Throwing caution into the wind, not giving a damn about any consequences, he leaned down and pressed his lips lightly to hers.

Arianna watched him stare at her with a look that was right between love and lust. She saw what he was thinking before it happened and she didn't move to stop it. Arianna could care less that she was engaged to someone else, all she cared about was Bash. All she wanted was to be with him, no matter what. She allowed him to kiss her and quickly it deepened and became more passionate. Her hands found their way into his hair while his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist.

Without breaking the kiss, Bash picked her up and laid her on his bed. Arianna was surprised but didn't protest. Being this close to Bash, feeling his love in the kiss was making her forget all cognitive thinking. All she could think about was getting closer to Bash. Sure, they had done a few things before but they had never gone all the way. Her virtue still had to be in tact and they wanted to wait until they were married.

Bash moved from her lips to trail kisses down her neck and her shoulder, pushing her sleeve out of the way. Arianna had forgotten just how good this felt and was lost in the ecstasy of it. He spent some time on her neck, making her squirm beneath him in pleasure. He smiled into the crook of her neck at this and nuzzled into it, eliciting giggles from her.

"Bash, that tickles!" Arianna squealed, trying to move her neck away from his face.

"Does this?" Bash asked, biting and nibbling her neck.

"Mmmmm." Was the only response that Arianna gave him.

Turning her head into his neck, she started to kiss and bite his as well. She smiled a bite a little harder when she heard him growl into her ear. Her hands had found their way to the bottom of his shirt, pulling it over his head in one swift motion. Moving her face out his neck to remove his shirt, she marveled at his body momentarily. Noticing her stare, Bash smirked.

"Like what you see, love?" Bash asked, and she just smiled at him.

Not waiting for an answer, he quickly recaptured her lips with his. Bash wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her up to his naked chest, while the other was in her hair. Arianna's hands were around his neck, and she was enjoying the warmth that his chest was giving off. Breaking the kiss, Bash moved back down to her neck but went to the exposed part of her chest as well. Nibbling and nipping at it, Arianna was starting to lose herself completely. Realizing where this was headed, she pulled his head back up to hers. He had slightly confused look on his face when his eyes met hers.

"Bash, we need to stop. We can't lose ourselves." Arianna breathed out, trying to regain her composure.

"Do you want me to stop?" Bash asked, lust in his eyes.

"Well, I didn't necessarily say that but we need to! We can't do this." Arianna told him, trying to stay focused.

"Okay, I understand." Bash said, but not moving from his position on Arianna.

They both lay there for a minute, just staring at each other. Arianna wished that she could somehow stop time so she would never have to leave this moment. She could just stay here with him, never having to hurt him and able to be with him like she wanted. He was the first to break the silence.

"What's on your mind, love?" Bash asked, moving a piece of hair out of her face.

She turned her head into Bash's hand; not wanting to tell him what was really on her mind. She knew that she had to stop this; she couldn't let herself get carried away. When she didn't speak, Bash spoke again.

"You can always tell me anything, Aria. It's okay." Bash said, rubbing his thumb across her cheek.

Arianna's face contorted in pain, hating that he was still acting this way, even after he knew that she was engaged to someone else. He still loved her and wanted to be with her.

"Bash, there is so much I want to tell you, I'm just scared. I've wanted to tell you everything, but I'm so scared. No one knows and I don't know if I can…" Arianna trailed off, not sure how to continue.

Bash rolled next to her, instead of being above her, and waiting patiently for her to stop. "Aria, what is it? You can tell me anything."

Arianna looked over at Bash, seeing the want and need in his eyes to hear everything. That wishful look that she was about to open up to him and tell him everything. She felt tears come to her eyes, knowing that she was about to crush him.

"Bash, it's not what you think it is." Arianna started.

"Aria, please don't cry. It's okay. I'm here. Just talk to me." Bash tried to comfort her but this made her cry harder.

"Bash, I'm engaged to someone else, you know this. I can't do this." Arianna cried.

"But we're supposed to be engaged! You can't be engaged to him and to me as well." Bash shouted in anger as he started to pace around the room.

"I know, Bash. I didn't choose this! I don't want to be engaged to someone else!" Arianna told him, sitting up on the bed now.

"Then why are you? Just break the engagement off!" Bash shouted running his hands through his hair.

"I can't! It's not that simple! There is more to it than that, Bash!" Arianna said getting upset as well.

"Then tell me, Aria! Explain it to me." Bash said moving to stand in front of her. "Tell me everything."

"I just can't." Arianna cried.

"No. I will not accept that anymore. I've waited for you and you keep pushing me away. I love you, Arianna. You can tell me anything. So please, just tell me. Let me back in." Bash pleaded.

"Please don't hate me." Arianna said quietly. "Everything I've been doing has been to keep you safe."

"Aria, please." Bash begged again.

"I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything. Just please don't hate me. You can't let on that you know. He'll kill you, Bash, he'll kill you! I can't let that happen." Arianna cried.

Bash sat in front of her waiting for an explanation. Arianna took a few deep breaths to steady herself. She was about to launch into her tale when trumpets were sounded outside. Arianna's eyes got wide as she realized why the trumpets were sounding. That meant a royal had arrived.

"Who could that be?" Bash asked rudely, upset that the trumpets interrupted.

"He's here." Arianna whispered terrified. "He's here."

"Who is here, Aria?" Bash asked urgently.

"Daymen Draganov. My fiancée." Arianna whispered, eyes wide and scared.

"What?" Bash was confused, yet again.

Arianna went to stand up but Bash grabbed her. "You're not leaving until you tell me everything."

"No, Bash. I need to go. I need to change and present myself as if nothing is wrong. I have to pretend that I'm fine, that I'm okay. Even though as soon as I leave this room, I'll feel like I'll be leaving a piece of me here." Arianna cried.

"Then don't leave." Bash whispered, walking over to Arianna.

Arianna looked up and saw Bash only inches from her now. "I have to leave, Bash. I'll try to explain everything at another time, if you'll let me. If not, I understand but I have to go. I'm so sorry."

Bash watched as she left and as soon as the door swung shut, he started to tear his room apart. This couldn't be happening. He had tried so hard to get her to come back to him. Yet all his efforts had failed. Angry and not wanting to see Arianna's fiancée, Bash gathered his clothes and some things and left. Not sure where he was going, he just walked until he reached a destination. He saw Mary at the stables getting a horse ready and walked over to her to help her.

"If the King knew I let you go unattended—" the servant said.

"You'd be punished." Bash finished. "We're fine here. I'd be glad to accompany the Queen. I have horses ready for us."

"Horses ready? But you just offered?" the servant questioned but Bash gave him a look that said don't. "Of course."

"Where are you going? What's wrong?" Bash asked Mary.

"I'm leaving. I'm going away. And if you love your brother you will not stand in my way." Mary told him.

"Away? Where?" Bash questioned.

"Far." Was all she replied.

"That's my destination as well." Bash told her, not wanting to be at the castle any longer. He couldn't stand the thought of having to see Arianna and her fiancée that was not him.

They both got on their horse and rode off. Francis was running after them but neither one stopped. They just rode off to anywhere. From a window in the castle, Arianna watched Bash ride off with Mary. She couldn't blame him but the sharp pain in her chest told her otherwise. Her grandmother came up behind her and pulled her hair back.

"Kedves, you look gorgeous. Daymen will be speechless when he sees you." Her grandmother gushed.

"Of course, grandmother." Arianna replied emotionlessly.

"Now let me look at you." Emese said, grabbing Arianna by the shoulders and turning her around. "Yes, you look absolutely perfect now. Hair pulled back, new gorgeous dress. Yes. Everything is much better. Now let us go."

Arianna nodded, walking out of her room and following her grandmother into the throne room where Daymen was. Henry had gone off, most likely trying to calm his rage towards Mary but Catherine had stayed to greet the two princes of Bulgaria that arrived in the middle of all the commotion.

"Forgive me for all the drama that happened at the same time you arrived. We are very happy to be hosting you for the time being. Please, make yourselves at home here!" Catherine told them, looking as happy as ever that Mary had left.

Arianna took all the energy she had to not look terrified as she stared at the back of Daymen. She took a deep breath, calming herself, and shutting off everything she was feeling.

"It's a pleasure to be here, Queen Catherine." Blazhe said, sounding as formal as ever. Arianna smiled slightly, always liking Blazhe the best. He was kind, sweet, and very regal. He deserved to be king. However, he was the second born so he most likely wouldn't get be.

"Yes, as my brother said, it's a pleasure." Daymen said sounding exactly the same as Arianna remembered. Full of arrogance and malevolence.

"Well enjoy yourselves! We will have a feast tomorrow night to honor your presence!" Catherine announced. "Ah! Arianna and Emese."

Both of the men turned around and Arianna curtsied to them. They bowed in return before Daymen came up and kissed Arianna on the hand.

"Arianna! I'm so glad that you are alive! When your grandmother told me I could hardly believe it." Daymen said, saying the last part as if he didn't want to believe it.

"Yes, when Emese sent us the news, I was relieved to know that you were alive and well, Aria. I'm sorry to hear about your parents though." Blazhe said, glaring at his brother.

"Thank you, Blazhe. I'm sure you couldn't believe it, Daymen yet here I am. Alive and still doing quite well despite everything." Arianna spat venomously at Daymen.

"Oh, don't worry Arianna, I can see just how well you're doing and I hope that I can make it even better." Daymen spat back, a hidden meaning behind his words.

Catherine was watching the exchange very intently, trying to figure out what was going on between the three. She had no idea what was going on but she had a feeling things at French Court were about to get even more interesting.

"Well now that you are here, let us come and enjoy the weather and catch up, yes?" Emese asked, looking as pleased as ever.

"That sounds like a lovely idea, doesn't it brother?" Blazhe asked, turning his attention to Daymen.

"Yes, it does." Daymen replied, never taking his eyes away from Arianna.

Together, the four of them went off to the ground to enjoy the sun and talk. However, Arianna's mind was somewhere else. Her mind was racing with thoughts of why Bash ran away with Mary and how she was going to keep her cool charade towards Daymen. She felt as if, one way or another, she would crack and all the pieces she had been holding together would come tumbling down breaking into pieces, leaving the secret she's been keeping since she arrived.


	28. Chapter 28

**Here is Chapter 28! Soon everything will be revealed with Arianna. Just a few more chapters! But things will definitely get interesting before then and even after! Let me know what you think. I love reading your reviews. They make me so happy. And here we go.**

After spending the day making pointless small talk with Emese, Daymen, and Blazhe, Arianna had be more than happy to be in the solitude of her room. All afternoon, her grandmother was going on and on about how wonderful it was going to be once Daymen and her were married. Blazhe would ask her questions, trying to get the attention off of the engagement, but somehow, Emese always turned it back around. Arianna admired Blazhe for that, being sweet despite how evil his brother was.

The entire afternoon though, she had not had a moment alone with Daymen, and for that she was grateful. She was dreading the point where she was have to be alone with him. When he had an audience, his true nature was hidden, trying to keep up his wonderful, perfect gentleman façade. Alone, Daymen turned into a completely different person. Sure, he was arrogant and whatnot and that showed no matter what, but he played it off most of the time. With no one around, he showed how vengeful and selfish he was. All he's ever wanted was power and with Arianna, he was getting it.

Trying to push all thoughts of Daymen out of her head, Arianna's mind then drifted to the one thing that broke her heart. Sebastian. She couldn't blame him from running away. It was selfish of her to ask him to wait, to expect him to stay when she was to be with someone else. No matter how much she tried to reason with herself that Bash could do what he wanted, she still was angered by the fact that he ran off with Mary. Mary of all people! How could he do such a thing?

Before she could ponder this thought any longer, there was a knock at her door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see who was on the other side.

"Francis?" Arianna was shocked that he would come to see her so late.

"I need to talk to you." Francis said, walking right into her room.

"What is it?" Arianna asked but having a feeling she knew what he wanted to discuss.

"Do you know why Mary ran away?" Francis asked with desperation in his eyes.

"Francis…" Arianna started.

"No, Aria, please, if you know anything just tell me." Francis begged.

Arianna's heart broke at this sight. She loved Francis as a brother, even though they didn't get a lot of time to talk since she's been here. She didn't want to betray Mary so all she told him was she left for his protection.

"My protection? How is leaving protecting me? She broke my heart, Aria." Francis told her.

"I know, Francis, and I wish I had more for you but I don't. " Arianna felt so bad for not telling Francis but it wasn't her secret to tell.

"How could she have left?" Francis was now holding his head in his hands, sitting on Arianna's chair. "And to run off with Bash, my brother, of all people."

Arianna sucked in a breath at this statement. She had been trying not to think about Bash and Mary together.

"Do you know why Bash left?" Francis asked, desperation in his eyes.

Arianna bit her lip as her eyes started to water. "I'm afraid it was because of me."

"What do you mean, Aria? He loves you." Francis told her.

"I'm engaged to someone else, Francis. I explained all of that to him before and then tried to tell him everything but my new fiancée arrived just before he left. I asked him to stay so I could talk to him more but he didn't. Honestly, I don't blame him for leaving." Arianna said as she looked away from Francis.

"You're engaged to someone else? How?" Francis was perplexed.

"When I went back home when my father got sick, my grandmother had made a promise to one of the princes of Bulgaria, one that I did not want and that my parents had no idea about. Since the fire, I was hoping Daymen, my fiancée, would find someone else but obviously not. My grandmother has been set on us getting married every since she arrived. I, on the other hand, would rather be tortured every day of my life than be married to that narcissistic ass." Arianna spat.

"I'm so sorry, Aria. I wish I could help." Francis came over and hugged Arianna.

"There's no use, Francis. I shall marry Daymen and be miserable for the rest of my life. Isn't that how most royals live their lives anyway?" Arianna joked dryly.

Francis nodded, not sure of what to say to make Arianna feel better, and then bid her a goodnight. Sighing deeply, she tried to push all of her thoughts of Bash out of her head and laid down in bed, hoping that tomorrow would be easier. Sleep did not come easy for her though, nightmares plagued her each time she closed her eyes. Visions of the fire flashed before her eyes every time she shut them. It wasn't until well into the night when sleep finally overcame her. However, she did not sleep for a long, as there was a commotion in the early morning.

Arianna did not get out of bed, not wanting to see what was going on outside in the halls. She did not want to get up and face Daymen and her grandmother. So instead, she just lay in bed, hoping that all this could be a bad dream. That if she stayed hidden long enough, they'd all forget about her. However, that wasn't about to happen today.

The doors of her chambers burst open, startling her into an upright position. Lola was standing in the middle of her room, not bothering for formalities.

"Lola! You scared me half to death. What is it?" Arianna asked, a hand on her chest.

"Mary is back. Along with Sebastian." Lola said.

Arianna's eyes widened at this. She hadn't expected them to be back so soon. Something must've happened, something terrible. Quickly throwing her blankets aside, Arianna jumped out of bed and quickly dressed with Lola's help. She was about to go and see Bash when reality caught up to her. Lola noticed the look on her face.

"What is it, Aria?" Lola asked.

"I can't do this. I was going to rush off to see Bash, to talk to him, but I can't do it anymore. Daymen is here. I need to start distancing myself from Bash, keeping him out of my mind and out of my life." Arianna explained, tears coming to her eyes.

"Oh, Aria." Lola hugged her. "I've spoken to Mary and there is something I need to tell you. King Henry has threatened Bash's life. He says that if Mary doesn't wed Francis, he will kill Bash."

"Has he lost his mind?" Arianna exclaimed. "Bash is his son, his favorite son. How could he just kill him without a second thought?"

"I don't know, but Mary is still refusing to wed Francis, not wanting him to die." Lola explained.

"Oh, but she's perfectly fine with letting Bash die?" Arianna was starting to get angry.

"No, no. She's trying to figure a way where everyone wins." Lola told Arianna, trying to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be getting angry. That's not helping my whole ignoring Bash thing." Arianna said, breathing deeply.

"Should you really be trying to stay away from Bash now? Just ignoring him completely?" Lola asked.

Arianna sighed. "I have to. Daymen is a terrible man and if he knew how deeply I feel for Bash, I don't even want to imagine what he would. He's capable of dark things, Lola."

"Are you saying he'd kill Bash?" Lola questioned, wondering how Arianna could be with someone like this.

"He's killed before." Arianna replied darkly.

Lola was about to ask what she meant when Arianna's grandmother came into the room.

"Arianna! Isn't it lovely that Daymen is here? Shame that he came during all this commotion, though." Emese stated looking as happy as ever.

"Yes, that is a shame." Was all Arianna said.

Lola just watched the exchange with interest. She found it odd how Emese just cooed over Daymen when Arianna had made it clear he was nothing more than a monster. Could her grandmother not see that? Or did she just not care?

"Is there something you needed, grandmother?" Arianna asked shortly.

"Watch your tongue." Emese snapped. "I came to tell you that Daymen has requested your presence for a special dinner tonight."

"In the midst of all this?" Arianna questioned.

"Yes, your fiancé would like a dinner with you. It's just a formality for him to request. You are going to dinner tonight." Emese told her.

"Yes, of course. I look forward to tonight." Arianna responded, nodding.

"Good. That is all." Emese then walked out of Arianna chambers.

"Well that was rude." Lola announced.

"That is my grandmother for you." Arianna rolled her eyes. "She is very stuck in her ways, believing that a queen is nothing more than a king's property. I don't know how but she adores Daymen. It's quite sickening actually."

Lola nodded, feeling for her friend. "Come, let's talk a walk. Maybe it'll help you."

"Thank you, Lola. That sounds lovely." Arianna linked her arm with Lola's as the walked out of her room.

Arianna's mind kept drifting to Bash locked in the dungeon. She couldn't wrap her mind around all that was happening. Hadn't it only been two days ago that she was in Bash's arms? That Aylee had died in hers? Everything has been happening so fast that Arianna barely had time to process her own thoughts about everything. All she could think about was how she should be acting and feeling instead of what she really felt. As her and Lola came to the lake, she saw Blazhe standing at the waters edge. Arianna smiled a little and made her way over to him.

"Blazhe!" Arianna greeted.

"Aria, how lovely to see you." Blazhe bowed. "And who is this wonderful creature?"

"Blazhe, this is Lola, one of Queen Mary's ladies. Lola, this is Blazhe Draganov, Prince of Bulgaria." Arianna introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lola." Blazhe said, taking Lola's hand and kissing the top of it.

"And to meet you as well." Lola responded, blushing a little.

"How are you, Aria?" Blazhe asked, concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine." Blazhe gave her a look. "Well, as fine as I'll ever be with your brother here."

"He hasn't done anything, has he?" Blazhe was now walking around the lake with Lola and Arianna.

"No, but give it time. I'm sure he'll do something soon." Arianna replied.

"What could he possibly do?" Lola piped in.

Blazhe directed his attention to Lola now. "My brother, even though he is family, isn't a very nice person. He's done some things that I am not proud of. I grew quite close to Aria when we were at her home and I want to make sure my brother does not hurt her as he has hurt many others."

"That didn't really answer my question." Lola pointed out while Arianna smirked at this. One thing that Blazhe was skilled at was diverting answering things he did not want to answer. The two shared a look before Blazhe responded to Lola.

"Daymen is just capable of things that most people would find immoral." Blazhe told her.

"Then why is Aria marrying him?" Lola couldn't understand this situation.

Blazhe shook his head. "I wish I knew how to get her out of it."

"I do, too." Arianna said quietly.


	29. Flashback

**I thought that I'd pause from all the drama in Bash and Arianna's life and decide to make this chapter a very cute one. Here is the flashback chapter I said I'd post forever ago. I hope that you all enjoy it. Let me know how you like it, or even how you dislike it! I welcome any kind of review. Here is the cute stuff.(:**

_Arianna was watching Bash read from her chair, not even trying to hide the fact that she was staring. The two of them were sitting in the sunroom, Bash on a lounge while Arianna was in a chair across from him. She had tried to focus on what she was reading but whenever Bash was around, she couldn't keep her focus on anything but him. _

_"You're staring." Bash said, not looking up from his book. _

_"Am not." Arianna countered, quickly looking back down at her own. _

_Bash's eyes met Arianna's, one eyebrow raised. "Then what are you reading?" _

_Arianna opened her mouth but nothing came out. To be honest, she could not remember what she was reading, or even where she was in the book. She had been watching Bash read for so long that she had forgot. The way his eyebrows would furrow together when he read something that confused him or he didn't understand. He would smirk slightly whenever he read something that was funny or made him happy. He eyes were quickly moving over each page, desperate to read more. She was enjoying watching him more than reading herself, and that was saying something. _

_"See!" Bash exclaimed once Arianna had been quiet for a while. "You can't tell me what you were reading because you weren't reading." _

_Arianna smiled and put her book down. "Fine, you caught me. I was watching you. Is that so bad?"_

_Bash laughed and sat up. "Not at all. Come here." _

_Arianna shot up and moved to the lounge where Bash was, settling into his chest. He put his chin on her shoulder and she turned her head to rest her forehead on his temple. As there was no one in the sunroom, the two didn't need to hide how intimate they were. Arianna wished they could be like this all the time, not needing to hide from everyone. However, a princess with bastard could cause a lot of trouble within the courts, especially if word were to get back to Hungary before she was ready. Besides, it wasn't anything too serious. Was it?_

_"What's on your mind?" Bash asked, interrupting Arianna's thoughts. _

_"Oh, nothing. Just thinking." Arianna replied with a small smile. "Keep on reading, dear." _

_"I don't know if I can now." Bash said, putting his book down. "You're much too close to focus on anything but you." _

_Arianna blushed deeply; looking around making sure no one was around. _

_"Your blush is so beautiful." Bash complimented quietly, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. "You're so beautiful." _

_"Bash." Arianna breathed, leaning into his touch. _

_Bash's lips met Arianna's, crushing them with passion. Arianna's arms went around Bash's neck as his went to her waist; lowering her onto the lounge so he was atop of her now. The kiss deepened quickly, Bash was nibbling on her lower lip, asking for access into her mouth. Arianna reciprocated quickly, allowing him into her mouth. She moaned at the feeling of him, loving how they seemed to fit together almost perfectly. Bash smirked against her lips when she moaned and pulled away only to rest his forehead on hers for a moment. Both of them were out of breath and they couldn't stay like this for long, in case someone was to see them. _

_"Aria." Bash started but someone cleared their throat from behind them, stopping whatever he was about to say. _

_The two quickly sat up and made sure they were sitting an appropriate distance away from each other, even though they were caught. _

_"Mother." Bash breathed, relieved that it was her who was there. "You scared us." _

_"Yes, I see that." Diane said smiling at the two of them. "Lovely to see you, Aria." _

_Arianna cheeks were still flushed, from what Bash and from the embarrassment of Bash's mother seeing them so close. "I'm sorry for that Diane." _

_Diane laughed at the girl's embarrassment. "Don't be sorry, darling."_

_"Was there something you needed, mother?" Bash asked, slightly irritated that she had interrupted his alone time with Arianna. _

_"Yes, your father is looking for you." Diane told him. _

_"Alright. I'll see you later, Aria." Bash said, kissing her cheek before getting up and leaving the two alone. _

_Arianna was quiet for a moment, still a little embarrassed about what had happened. Diane came over and, sitting in the chair that Arianna was sitting in before she moved to sit with Bash, took her hand. _

_"Aria." Diane started. "How do you feel about my son?"_

_Arianna's head snapped up at this question. "What do you mean?" _

_"Oh come on, Aria. I've known how Bash has felt about you from the beginning. I can see that you two are getting serious so I want to know. How do you feel about my son?" Diane explained, still holding Arianna's hand. _

_Arianna was quiet for a moment trying to decide how exactly she felt. She and Bash had been together for a while now, and she was happier than she had ever been. Whenever Bash wasn't around, all she could think about was he and what he was doing and when he was around, she was drawn to him by some sort of unknown force. If he was in the same room, she would always be right there by him, and the same went for him. _

_"Aria?" Diane called, trying to get Arianna out of her head. _

_"I'm sorry, Diane." Arianna apologized, snapping out of her thoughts. "The way I feel about Bash is something that I've never felt before. It's terrifying and wonderful all at the same time. He infuriates me sometimes but…" Arianna paused, a huge grin appearing on her face. _

_"You love him." Diane said, not a question but as a statement. _

_"What?" Arianna asked, confused by this. _

_"Haven't you realized this?" Diane was smiling now. "You love Sebastian." _

_Arianna was at a loss for words. How had she not seen this herself? "But, I'm a princess and he is a bastard." Arianna grimaced as she said this. "What will this mean for us?" _

_"Aria, didn't you tell me before that your parents are allowing you to pick who you get to be with?" Arianna nodded. "Then be with Sebastian! He loves you, too. I can see it whenever he looks at you." _

_Arianna shook her head. "No, he doesn't love me. Does he?" _

_"Go tell him, Aria. Go tell him how you feel." Diane told her. _

_Arianna went to stand up but stopped, sitting back down momentarily. "Diane, why did you ask?" _

_Diane smiled. "Aria, I only want what is best for my son. I want him to be happy and have a wonderful life. I see the way he looks at you, I hear how he talks about you, and I can tell how deeply he cares for you. I am his mother, I wanted to make sure that he wouldn't get hurt." _

_"Diane, I promise you this. I would never want to hurt Bash, in any way." Arianna said, determination in her eyes. "Thank you." _

_"No, thank you. For making my son happy." Diane let go of Arianna's hands now, watching her go find Bash._

* * *

_"Father, why did you call me here?" Bash asked, finding King Henry in his chambers. _

_"Ah, yes, Sebastian." Henry said, clasping his shoulders. "How are you?" _

_"I'm good, very good actually." Bash answered, smiling thinking of Arianna. _

_"Does the Hungarian princess have anything to do with that?" Henry question, grinning at Bash. _

_"She does. I've never been happier." Bash confessed. _

_"Good, good!" Henry told him. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Does she know that you love her?" _

_Bash just stared at Henry, at a loss for words. _

_"Oh, Bash. Don't tell me that you haven't realized it. I see the way you two look at each other from across the room, how close you two have become since she's been here. It's clear that you love her." Henry explained. "How does she make you feel, son?"_

_Bash sighed, thinking about this. "She makes me feel alive. When she's in the same room, I have to be near her. It's like I'm drawn to her. When she's not around, I'm constantly thinking about her, wondering what she's doing. I've never felt like this before, father. I do love her." _

_"I know." Henry said. "It's clear whenever you look at her. And it's clear that she feels the same when she looks at you."_

_Bash smiled at this but his expression changed. "I'm just a bastard though, and she's a princess. We could never have a future." _

_"Didn't she say her parents gave her permission to choose who she wants to be with?" Henry asked. _

_"Well, yes, but—"_

_"No. There is no but, Sebastian." Henry cut him off. "You can be with her." _

_Bash thought about this and smiled. Henry nodded and Bash left his father to go find Arianna and tell her that he loved her. Hopefully Henry was right when he said that Arianna felt the same way. Bash was wondering all around the castle, trying to find her, but was having no luck as Arianna was doing the same thing so they kept just missing each other. _

_Finally giving up, Bash decided to go to his room and hopefully he'd be able to find Arianna later. On the walk, he was trying to decide the best way to tell Arianna that he was in love with her. She had to feel the same way, right? What if she didn't? Bash's palms started to sweat a little bit at that thought but he knew that he needed to tell her, to see where he stood with her. He may be just a bastard but he would love her like no one could and he wanted to show her that. _

_When he reached his room, he pushed the door open and was in shock to see who was on his bed. _

_"I knew you'd come back here." Arianna said smiling. _

_"Aria, what are you doing here? If you get caught, you'll reputation could be ruined." Bash explained, not wanting rumors to get out about her. _

_"To hell with my reputation, Bash. I've been looking for you. I need to tell you something." Arianna said, standing now. _

_"No, let me go first." Bash moved to right in front of Arianna. "I've been looking for you, too." _

_Arianna nodded, signaling for Bash to continue with what he needed to say. Bash took a deep breath and looked deep into Arianna's eyes. He didn't feel nervous anymore when he looked at her. He knew that this was right. _

_"Aria, I didn't know what I thought this was going to be but it's turned out to be much better than I could've ever imagined." Bash smiled at Arianna. "I know that you're a princess and I'm nothing but a bastard—"_

_"Bash, that doesn't matter to me." Arianna interrupted. _

_"I know. Let me finish." Arianna pursed her lips and nodded. "I know that doesn't matter and I don't know why I haven't noticed this until now. I would always be sad when you would go back to see your parents, I would wait eagerly for your letters about your travels and to see when you'd be back. You've been my best friend since we were little and I couldn't imagine having anyone else. I love you, Arianna." _

_Arianna smiled, a smile so big that it was hurting her cheeks a little. "Bash, that's what I wanted to tell you. I love you. I don't know how I didn't see it either. I hate when I'm not around you and when I was gone; you were always on my mind. I don't care that I'm a princess and that you're a bastard. You're my bastard and I wouldn't want it any other way." _

_Bash's smile was just as big as Arianna's now, and he pulled her into his arms and kissed her more passionately than he had kissed her before. "I love you." _

_"And I love you." Arianna replied. "I don't think I'll ever tire of hearing you say that." _

_"Good." Bash kissed her again. "Because I'll never stop telling you." _


	30. Chapter 29

**Now, here is chapter 29. I hope you all enjoyed the little flashback I did there. Just wanted to give some Bash and Arianna cuteness since there hasn't been some and there be that much for a while. Have I said too much?**

The rest of the walk back to the castle was quiet, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Once inside, Blazhe said goodbye to the two girls, going in a different direction. Arianna was going to go back to her room but Lola insisted she come join her. Agreeing, Arianna and Lola made their way to Lola's chambers. When they arrived, Arianna took a seat in the window, Lola sitting across from her. Arianna was about to speak when all the girls came in, Mary included.

"Aria. I didn't expect you to be here." Mary said, looking a little but ashamed.

"It's alright, Mary. I'm not mad at you." Arianna told her, giving a small smile.

"I'm so glad because there are some things I must tell all of you." Mary looked to all the girls, sitting around Arianna and Lola.

Mary began her explanations, telling them of what happened and her plan. She looked to Arianna when she told them of legitimizing Bash, feeling regret and guilt that she was planning to marry the man her friend was in love with.

"In truth, Catherine has been relatively kind to us." Lola told Mary. "She was arranging our passage for next week."

"But now you're back! And marrying Bash." Greer said the last part laced with disbelief.

"If Henry makes him the next king. It was the only way I could save Bash and Francis. And do as I was bid by my mother as is my duty." Mary replied. "I'm so sorry, Aria. I didn't mean for all this to happen."

"It's alright, Mary. Besides, my fiancé is here now. I must get used to Daymen being the man I am to marry, not Bash. We both are just trying to do what is best for our country, as bid to us by others." Arianna said, placing a hand on Mary's shoulder.

"What about me?" Kenna asked. "If Bash legitimized, Henry must marry Diane and she'll be back at court as queen."

"If the plan works, yes." Mary said. "I know his must be painful for you, you have feelings for the king."

"Painful?" Kenna asked exasperated. "You have no idea, any of you! I think Diane was behind Aylee's death."

"Kenna, what are saying?" Lola asked.

"Aylee fell, but I think she was poisoned first." Kenna told them.

"What makes you think such a thing?" Arianna asked.

"It was a cup shattered at the base of the stairs. A cup that was delivered to me." Kenna explained. "I saw a cat drinking the spilled contents. Not long after I found the animal dead in the corner."

Mary got up and moved to sit by Kenna. "Why didn't you tell any of us about your suspicions?"

"You were already dealing with so much and then you were gone! What could I, any of us, done about it in your absence? Who would stand to gain by my death? Diane certainly. But also Catherine. What better way to warn you of Nostradamus's visions than by fulfilling his latest prophecy." Kenna told Mary.

"That one of us would die?" Lola asked.

"And one of us did." Kenna said with remorse.

"There was other proof of Nostradamus's power." Mary reasoned.

"Yes, but it Aylee's death that convinced you that what he predicted for Francis would come true." Kenna pointed out.

"Did Catherine know of this last prophecy? Was she aware of it?" Arianna asked.

"She would never admit to it. But I'm getting better at discerning when she's lying." Mary told them.

With that, Mary got up and went to confront Catherine, leaving the rest of the girls to sit there and ponder what Kenna just said. Arianna quietly excused herself, not wanting to hear them talk about Mary offering to wed Bash. On her way out of the room, she saw Francis, looking very upset and heading towards the dungeons. Arianna had a feeling she knew what was about to happen so she ran after Francis.

"Francis!" she called without avail. "Francis, stop!"

Francis did now stop however. He kept walking, quicker when he heard Arianna call for him. Having a head start and able to move much faster than her, Francis reached the dungeons long before she did. She saw a door open and heard grunting form inside. Moving faster, Arianna darted inside to see Francis beating Bash.

"Francis, stop!" Arianna cried, pulling on his arm.

"Let me go, Aria! He's stealing Mary away and he's hurting you! How can you be okay with that?" Francis yelled with pain in his eyes.

"Francis, he tried to save you because he loves you. Mary did this. She just told us she proposed marrying him she made the decision. Bash was down here and didn't know anything. They're just trying to protect you." Arianna reasoned with Francis.

"She did what?" Bash asked from behind her.

"Shut up, you!" Arianna snapped.

"Why is she doing this, Aria? Why is she so determined not to be with me? Mary is going to ruin everything!" Francis cried. "She's taking my family's inheritance from me, from my mother and my brothers! Does she expect me to just accept this? She's throwing away everything for superstition! I will never forgive her, Aria."

"Francis." Arianna called as Francis stalked out of the cell.

"Aria." Bash said from behind her.

"No, Sebastian." Arianna said, not turning to face him.

"Aria, listen to me. I didn't run away to be with Mary. I was upset that you were still planning to marry that man and then you left me to go be with him! I couldn't take it anymore and I went down to the stables and she was leaving at the same time. It just happened! If I had known that all this would've taken place, I never would've left with her." Bash explained.

"Sebastian, stop. I don't want to hear your excuses. Mary has proposed to marry you and for you to be the heir to the throne. Henry will, without a doubt, consider it if he gets England in the process. Henry threatened your life if Mary didn't wed the next king of France so she decided to do what she thought was best for everyone. You walked away from me before, now I'm going to walk away from you." Arianna never once turned around to look at him.

"Arianna, wait please!" Bash called out after her but she kept walking.

Upon exiting the dungeons, she saw Mary run past her looking upset.

"Don't worry, I stopped Francis from beating him to death, however I was unaware that Bash didn't know what you planned. How sneaky of you." Arianna quipped.

"Aria, I'm sorry." Mary apologized, but Arianna shook her head and kept walking.

Arianna tried to push this whole ordeal out of her head, as she needed to get ready for the dinner she had to go to tonight. On the way back to her room, she saw King Henry pacing up and down the halls, looking frantic.

"King Henry." Arianna addressed while curtsying slightly.

"Aria. So lovely to see you." Henry greeted. "May we talk?"

"Of course, your grace." Arianna said, following him into the throne room.

"Are you alright?" Henry asked her, concern on his face.

"I'm fine, your grace. Why do you ask?" Arianna kept everything formal, not wanting to show the King how upset she was.

"Aria, we know each other better than that, no need with all the formalities. Do you think Bash and Mary are intimate?" Henry asked outright.

Arianna was a little taken back. "No. I don't think so. I think Mary is believing things that she shouldn't and is trying to push Francis away and the only way she can and keep everyone safe is to use Bash."

"So you think she's scared?" Henry pressed.

"I do. I think she's scared and tried to run. Now, she was brought back against her will and she's trying to do something that will anger you to let her out of her alliance. Knowing you though, I do believe that you are considering her proposal." Arianna watched Henry closely.

"Yes, I am. No one else can know this." Henry commanded.

"Of course. You do know why Bash ran away thought right?" Arianna asked him. When he shook his head, she continued. "I had told him that I was engaged to someone else and when I said that I was to stay engaged to that man and not Bash, he left. However, Diane and him were talking about something very secretive right before I found him. I think she wanted to have him legitimized for her own safety. And you and I both know Bash well enough to know he wouldn't want that for himself. I think with Diane planning something that could have her killed and with the arrival of the Draganov's, he couldn't take it and left."

Henry pondered this for a moment, not saying anything. "Henry?" He looked at Arianna, seeing a painful expression covering her features.

"Please, I know you love Bash, and if we are as close as you say, do me a favor? Don't kill him, don't hurt your son." Arianna pleaded, even though she knew it was wrong to ask a king a favor and that it was beneath a queen to beg.

Henry's features softened as he saw the broken girl in front of him. He had always thought of her as a daughter, and then when Bash and her had become close, he was happy that she would be joining his family. Sighing deeply, Henry nodded.

"I never planned on killing him, Aria. I was trying to scare Mary into going along with the alliance. I'm going to push the legitimization and he will wed Mary. I just wish that he was marrying you." Henry confessed.

"In truth, I do as well." Arianna gave Henry a sad smile. "I won't tell anyone what you told me and I hope you'll do the same, Your Grace. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a dinner with my awful fiancée that I need to get ready for."

Henry nodded and watched Arianna walk out of the room. Not running into anyone else along the way, Arianna made it back to her room. Once inside, she saw there was a dress on her bed with a note next to it from her grandmother.

_"Make sure you pull your hair back, kedves, you must look like a proper woman. –E"_

Sighing, she pulled the dress on and sat in front of her mirror. Straightening up her face and pulling her hair back into an up do, she leaned back against her chair letting out a deep sigh. Looking down, she noticed that her hands were shaking and her breathing was choppy. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down but she couldn't shake the fear that she had for Daymen. Arianna didn't want to be alone with him, she was worried about would come out when they were alone.

Even though she was terrified, she had to get through it. She would be spending the rest of her life alone with him. This thought brought on a sharp pain in her chest that went all the way to the pit of her stomach. She wanted nothing more than to hide and never have to see that man again. Well, if she was honest, what she wanted most was to go find Bash and run away together but that was out of the question. She thought she had escaped Daymen with the announcement of her death, hoping that he would just forget about her and her country if she were dead. That's why she never told anyone, in fear that he would find her again. Yet, all of her efforts had been for nothing. He was back and he was back for her.

Squaring her shoulders and holding her head up high, Arianna took a deep breath and tried to look as strong as she could to prepare her for the dinner that was to follow. Before she could compose herself anymore, someone knocked on her door.

Taking a deep breath, Arianna made her way to the door, revealing a servant that was sent to get her for the dinner.

_Here goes nothing_, she thought.


	31. Chapter 30

**I'm so sorry about the long wait! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think! **

"This dinner looks so lovely." Arianna told Daymen, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"Well, I'm glad. It's all for you, dear." Daymen replied with a cunning tone. "Maybe now you'll tell me what happened that night."

"So soon? We haven't even eaten yet." Arianna said, trying to get out of talking about it.

"Oh come now. You had me worried sick! I thought for sure you were dead." Daymen said, the last part coming out cold.

"Oh yes, I bet you did." Arianna spat. "Why don't we cut the formalities, Daymen? No one is around."

"I don't know what you're talking about, darling." Daymen put on tone of politeness and fake confusion on his face.

"Please, I know you were behind it. I heard your men outside my door, I heard you outside my brother's door. You killed my parents and you were going to kill me. Why? Because I wouldn't marry you?" Arianna said, anger in every word.

"Dear, sweet, Arianna. I think you are confused. You see if you had died in that fire, I would've been king of Hungary. Your grandmother had it all arranged, making sure that you calling off our engagement were kept quiet. So even if you 'd died, she would've appointed me king because she wants me to be king of Hungary. She's very cunning, your grandmother. We had discussed all this at length when we thought you were dead. And then, wouldn't you know, you were here all along, alive." Daymen had gotten very close to Arianna's face as he spoke.

"I know what you did, Daymen." Arianna's voice had venom in it. "I know it was you."

"Oh do you? I know why you came here. How is that bastard you are so fond of?" Daymen asked causing Arianna's eyes to widen. "Did I hit a nerve?"

"I will not marry you." Arianna said through clenched teeth.

"Oh you will, and you are. You don't have a choice." Daymen told her. "Now, let's enjoy this dinner, shall we?"

"No, thank you. I have suddenly lost my appetite." Arianna stood up from the small table they were seated at, throwing her napkin on the plate in from of her.

"I hope you aren't feeling ill, darling. I need my fiancée in the best health possible." Daymen said as she walked out. "For now."

Arianna froze momentarily at his last statement. Daymen noticed this and began to laugh. Hearing his sickening laughter, Arianna 's mind filled with flashbacks of the last time she heard that laughter and she ran all the way to her room, not stopping for anything. Once inside, Arianna let out a breath, shaking furiously. Her grandmother couldn't have been involved with what happened, could she? Arianna knew that Emese never liked how her father ran things, that Emese hated how he ran the country and how he let his children have freedom. But did she hate it enough to have a hand in killing her family? No, she couldn't believe it, but being at French Court showed her that people would do anything to get what they want.

Still leaning against her door, Arianna felt someone start to come inside. Terrified it was Daymen; she pushed back with all her strength.

"Aria let me in." Francis's voice came from behind the door.

"Francis?" Arianna moved to let him inside. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm leaving." Francis stated.

"You're what?" Arianna was shocked.

"I'm leaving, Aria. I'm leaving French Court. I can't stay here and watch my brother wed the woman I love. I now have Bash's freedom, as I will be a bastard, so I'm going to take advantage of it. I'm going to leave here and go where I please." Francis was pacing around her room as he spoke.

"You're leaving tonight? Right now?" Arianna questioned.

"At first light, I'll leave here and just go. I just came to tell you so someone knew." Francis told her.

"Will you write me?" Arianna asked. "Tell me about your travels, as I did when I travelled with my parents whenever I wasn't here?"

"Of course, I'll write often and when I can. Just take care of yourself and do me one favor?" Francis asked, taking her hands in his.

"Anything." Arianna said.

"Watch over Mary? And my brothers and mother?" Francis had hope in his eyes.

"Of course. You are like a brother to me, so they are like my family and I shall watch them as if they were mine. Don't worry. Try to have fun on your travels and don't leave anything out." Arianna hugged Francis.

"Thank you. Take care of yourself." Francis then walked out of Arianna's room.

Arianna couldn't take any more drama for the night so she retired for bed, however, sleep did not come easy. Her mind stayed awake much longer than she would've liked. When sleep finally did come, she was plagued with nightmares, some involving Bash, some involving her parent's death. No matter what the nightmare, Arianna always awoke after what seemed like only a few minutes sleep, terrified.

That morning, Arianna went and had breakfast with everyone else trying to be as regal and polite as possible while eating with Daymen, her grandmother and Blazhe. The girls were eating somewhere else and the only topic of conversation was that King Henry was going to lock Catherine away in the tower and how Francis had left French Court.

Not wanting to be around people for the rest of the afternoon, Arianna was hiding out in the library, reading and trying not to think about anything. Even though she was trying not to think about anything, Arianna was dreading the day she would have to go back to her own country. She knew that she was only staying here now so Henry could host the wedding between Hungary and Bulgaria, showing that he was a wonderful host and a great ally to have.

With all that was going on with Sebastian and Mary, though, she knew her wedding would be delayed and for that she was grateful. Maybe then she could have time to figure out how to get out of her marriage or at least figure out what really happened the night of her parents death.

Lost in her own thoughts, Arianna did not hear Blazhe enter the library until he was only a few feet from her.

"Aria, you don't look well." Blazhe commented frowning. "Tell me, what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing besides the normal, Blazhe. Just dreading my marriage and wishing that I could find a way out of it." Arianna told him, closing her book and setting it aside.

"Ah, yes. I heard you had dinner with my brother last night." Blazhe said.

Arianna had gotten up and began walking around the library, looking at the different books on the shelves. "Yes, it was rather…eventful."

"Oh, I know that tone." Blazhe moved closer to Arianna. "What did my brother do?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Blazhe." Arianna moved away from Blazhe when she answered, trying to make sure he didn't see that she was not telling him everything.

"Aria?" Blazhe called to him.

"Hmmm?" Arianna mused, not bothering to look at him.

"Why do you allow this engagement with my brother to continue?" Blazhe asked.

Arianna's froze where she stood. Blazhe was starting to ask questions that she did not want to answer just yet.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get a response from that, Blazhe continued on. "You are Queen, are you not? My brother is just a prince. He has no power over you in that sense, and I'm sure that Bulgaria would understand if you gave an explanation or offered some sort of trade. It's not as if your engagement is the only thing holding our countries together. Our countries were friends long before this."

"Yes, they were but—" Arianna started to protest.

Blazhe cut her off. "No, Aria. No buts. Why are you letting him control you? That's the only thing I never understood. I know my brother is capable of some vile things but he would never think to harm a queen."

Arianna's gaze fell to the floor and she didn't know how to say what she needed to tell him. Blazhe waited patiently for Arianna to answer his question, only watching her carefully, trying to read her expression.

"I tried to call it off, Blazhe." Arianna looked around, making sure no one was around to overhear even though they were the only two in the library. "It didn't turn out well. My grandmother has negotiated something and I cannot get out of it. I've tried, but I can't. I am Queen, and now that means I don't to marry for happiness. I have to marry for alliances. Even though our countries already have an alliance, this will strengthen it and I have no other option."

"What do you mean it didn't turn out well? What exactly did my brother do?" Blazhe asked.

"Not here, Blazhe. Not now. I need to figure some things out, or try to. Another time." Arianna offered, not ready to bring everything up right now.

"Alright, Aria. I understand." Blazhe had made his way over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder before looking back at the books.

Arianna was scared to talk to Blazhe about what happened that night. He would be the first person that would know the entire truth of that night. However, she had to try to find out more details before she told her tale. She had to figure out why exactly it happened. There was only one thing she knew for sure. Daymen killed her parents and he would pay.


	32. Chapter 31

Arianna had spent the next few days trying to piece together what happened the night her parents died. Every time she asked Emese about it, she would change the subject or say something vague. In her attempts, Arianna had to go over and over the night in her head and it was starting to take its toll on her.

Thankfully though, while she was busy with this, she hardly saw Bash. However, today he was to play king as Henry was out doing something, she didn't know what exactly. Being adventurous, Arianna decided to take a trip down to the throne room to see how Bash was handling all of this.

Upon entering, Arianna smiled, seeing Bash sitting on the throne, one fist on his cheek with the most bored expression on his face. When Bash saw her, his eyes widened slightly but showed no other emotion on how he felt. Sighing, Arianna took a spot near the back, watching as Bash dealt with the first complaint. Honestly, she couldn't blame him being bored. She expected that would be the look she would have soon when she had to listen to the complaints of her people.

Arianna didn't pay attention to what the two men before Bash were saying, something about chickens and goat, but she watched Bash carefully as he spoke. She always wondered what kind of king he would've been like and now she had a brief chance to see.

"My lord regent, the good man is speaking to you. He seeks the crowns judgment." Lord Hugo said.

"So sorry, Lord Hugo. My judgment. My judgment is that I have no way of knowing what this other man promised or didn't, but I know if you had tried to milk that goat before you took her, there'd be no issue." Bash said.

"So I'll have no satisfaction." One of the men said.

"I suppose not." Bash stated, "Unless you eat the goat and the taste delights you."

Arianna laughed out loud at this, causing many people, including Bash, to look at her.

"Well the regent has rendered his judgment." Lord Hugo said carefully. "We'll hear the next complaint."

Mary walked up to Bash and Arianna stiffened a little at this sight. She knew that she shouldn't be having these feelings but that didn't stop them from occurring. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Arianna willed the feelings of jealousy away, trying to be as calm as possible.

"If I die of boredom while hearing my people's grievances, am I playing into the Queen's hands?" Arianna heard Bash ask Mary.

"Stop being so flippant. Your people are trying to get to know you, this is important." Mary told Bash,

Opening her eyes, Arianna saw Mary step away from Bash just in time for the guards to push a poor looking pregnant girl towards Bash. Suddenly, Bash looked very interested in what was going on. Arianna found this odd and listened closely to what was going on now.

"My lord regent, this man claims his house was robbed by this woman." Lord Hugo said.

"What is this about?" Bash demanded. Everyone looked confused by his sudden attitude change.

"This man claims that this woman broke into his house and stole several items of value." Lord Hugo explained to Bash.

"Search her house and you'll find them, I'll warrant!" the man who house was robbed said. "Two putter mugs, and a fine looking glass. Handed down from my mother they was. Probably stole them to help with that baby she got with no husband."

"That's a lie." The pregnant girl spat.

"Ask her why she won't let me look in her house then," the man exclaimed.

"It's a lie, that's why! They just want—" the girl stopped herself and everyone seemed very interested now.

"Yes. What is it that _they _want, young lady?" Lord Hugo asked her.

"Nothing." The girl said quietly.

"My lord regent. Shall I have the castle guards search this woman's house?" Lord Hugo asked Bash.

"Of course." Bash said. "Have her held in the castle until her house can be searched. Who's next?"

Arianna watched as the guards dragged the pregnant girl out of the room and Arianna swore that she looked familiar, she just couldn't place it. The next person to step forward now was an older woman.

"My lord regent. I just came to say it's an honor to see you, sir." She started. "We heard talk of this handsome bastard who's ruling while King Henry is away." Bash gave her a look. "Begging pardon, no offense."

"None taken." Bash told her sincerely.

"If I might offer a blessing, just to wish you well." The woman said, getting closer and closer to Bash.

Arianna knew what was happening. The guards quickly rushed at the woman, revealing a knife that was concealed in her hand. Arianna sucked in a breath, not able to believe that someone was already trying to kill Bash. She didn't hear what the guards yelled but she heard what the woman yelled as they dragged her off.

"The bastard must die!"

Arianna just watched helplessly from the sidelines as Mary grabbed Bash's arm and led him out of the room, talking in hushed tones. They walked by Arianna and neither of them looked at her in the eyes. She wanted to say something but she had no idea what it was she would say. She hadn't really talked to Mary or the girls since it was made official that Mary was going to wed Bash and he would be the next king. Seeing that the room had cleared and she was the only one left, she decided to go for a walk and try to clear her head and maybe see what she could come up with to get the girls to talk to her again.

After walking around the castle for a while, Arianna was not able to come up with a plan to talk to the girls and not able to distract herself from her thoughts. Giving up, Arianna was making her way back to her room when she saw Lola, Greer and Kenna acting very secretive. Staying quiet, Arianna came up behind them.

"What are you girls doing?" Arianna whispered.

All three of them whipped around to look at her. "Aria, you scared us." Lola said.

"We're spying on the queen." Kenna told her, pulling Arianna to her side.

"Kenna!" Greer whispered.

"You think she had that woman try and kill Bash?" Arianna asked.

"Mary does so we're trying to find evidence." Lola explained.

"Knowing Catherine, she most likely won't leave any." Arianna replied. "But I may have an idea."

The girls looked at her with their eyebrows raised. "You'll see. Come!" Arianna said, pulling them towards the tower.

"Is this really necessary?" Catherine asked as men were talking her writing table out of the room.

"The regent asked you not to pass messaged inside the castle. You defied his order." Lola told her.

"I see." Catherine responded. "So the four of you have come to buck each other up because I'm so frightening? Or did you all just want the pleasure of seeing me brought so low."

"I suppose a little bit of each actually." Kenna piped in.

Catherine laughed and walked closer to the girls. "I guess you're a bit starved for entertainment, Kenna. Now that the king's rejected you. You're so beautiful. I marvel to think at how grating and tedious you must also be to achieve such a thing."

"Leave her alone!" Greer defended.

"Greer of Kinross. Oh you're so plucky, and brave, and ripe, and ready. Coming to court to sell yourself to noble to salvage your father's failures. I hope your flesh isn't too weak to save God your virtue as that's all your family has left." Catherine attacked Greer, watching, as she was defeated after the speech.

"You can stop bullying everyone now." Arianna stepped forward. "The reason we came here is tell you we're the only four faces you'll be seeing for a while. No more guards, no more servants. No one else you can threaten or bribe."

"So you're the strong one?" Catherine asked in a mocking manner. "How strong are you really, Arianna? How does it feel to watch the bastard you love become so close to Mary? Does your fiancée know of how you love a bastard? It'd be a shame if he found out and something happened to Sebastian."

"Stop!" Lola shouted.

"So does that make you the smart one, Lola?" Catherine asked. "If that were true, you'd know, you've already let your queen down. You four coming here that she's not in the castle, otherwise she'd have delivered this message. It also tells me that she's probably off helping that bastard and his escaped lover."

"And you saying so tells us Mary was right. You've had a hand in every plot against, Bash, even the one on his life. And if you've left a scrap of evidence, we'll find it." Arianna said from her spot on the wall. "Loss for words, Catherine?"

Catherine gave Arianna a dark look as the four walked out. She followed them as they closed the door, trying to taunt them as they walked down the hall.

"See, I told you that'd work." Arianna said.

"But now she knows Mary is away from the castle." Greer countered.

"She most likely already knew that." Arianna pointed out. "Now we know that it was her and we know what she planning on using to take down Bash. All we have to do is wait for her to slip up on something else."

"And how do you expect us to do that?" Kenna asked.

Arianna bit her lip, trying to think of something. Nothing immediately came to mind but she was sure they'd think of a way. No matter what, Arianna was just happy that she had her friends back.


	33. Chapter 32

**Here is the chapter where everything is finally out in the open! I hope you all enjoy it. Let me know what you think.**

Arianna, Greer, and Lola were siting in their chambers, waiting on Kenna to get back from her watch with Catherine. It was her job to try and figure something out about her plans. When asked why her, Arianna merely said that Catherine would be more inclined to taunt Kenna as she was intimate with the King, maybe revealing something they could use.

"So how are you, Aria?" Lola asked as Arianna was looking out the window.

"Hmmm?" Arianna directed her attention to Lola now. "Oh, I'm fine."

"Come on, Aria. Tell us the truth." Greer said.

Arianna took a deep breath, and then threw herself onto the bench she was perched on. "I'm awful! I'm engaged to someone I can't stand and I get to watch as Mary and Bash become closer. It's sickening."

"I wish we could help you." Lola comforted, rubbing Arianna's back.

"I wish you could, too." Arianna sat up. "I have something I need to tell you all though."

"What is it?" Greer asked, looking very concerned.

Arianna took a deep break in and was about to tell them her suspicions when Kenna burst into the room.

"I got it!" Kenna exclaimed. "Why do you all look like I just gave you bad news instead of good?"

"Oh, Kenna. Aria was about to tell us something important." Greer said, looking back towards Arianna.

"It'll wait. What did you figure out, Kenna?" Arianna asked.

Kenna then proceeded to tell them how Catherine had said that spoken words meant nothing and that they could try and make fake evidence that would frame Catherine for the crimes that she had committed.

"Kenna, that's brilliant!" Arianna exclaimed, pulling her into a hug.

The plan the girls had concocted worked without fail. The girls went their separate ways after they finished everything and Mary and Bash returned from whatever errand they had to run. Arianna was still unsure what had happened but she didn't ask. If she asked then she would be pulled back into Bash's life and that was something that she did not want to happen right now.

Daymen had been gone for the last few days, off to Bulgaria to deal with something that his father wanted but Blazhe stayed to keep Arianna company. Arianna was happy with that, enjoying Blazhe's company very much.

On this morning, Arianna and Blazhe were sitting in the sunroom trying to think of happier topics to discuss but it was not working out. Arianna had asked Blazhe about the girl he was engaged to but apparently she turned out to be a whore and cheated, leaving Blazhe upset and alone. After hearing this, Arianna stayed quiet, not sure what else to talk about. There was one question that she had wanted to ask Blazhe, but she wasn't sure that she wanted the answer.

"Blazhe, do you know what happened the night my parents died? The night that he thought I died?" Arianna asked.

"Aria, are you sure you want to be asking these things?" Blazhe was now trying to look anywhere but her face.

"Blazhe, please. What do you know?" Arianna begged.

Blazhe sighed. "I know enough."

"Stop being vague. Did you know what Daymen was planning?" Arianna told him.

"Aria." Blazhe sighed, putting a hand to his forehead, rubbing his temples.

"You knew?" Arianna accused.

"No. Daymen was bragging about how he was to be king of Hungary now that your family had been killed in the accidental fire, and I knew that something was off. He was much too happy about it, and that worried me. I did some digging, tortured some of his guards, yet none of them said much. A few said cryptic comments about that night but there were never any real facts in anything they said." Blazhe explained. "What happened, Aria? You can tell me."

Arianna shook her head, signaling that they shouldn't talk here. Standing, she extended her arm for Blazhe, leading him somewhere more private. Arianna didn't know where else to go so she lead him to a small clearing just out of sight from the castle. The same clearing that her and Bash would go meet each other when they did not want to be seen. Thinking of him made her chest tighten, sending a sharp pain throughout her body. She pushed Bash out of her mind for the moment, trying to gather all the strength she had to tell Blazhe the thing she had been hiding.

"Aria, tell me. What is going on?" Blazhe asked urgently.

Arianna sat down in the small clearing, not caring about dirtying her dress. Blazhe kneeled in front of her, waiting patiently as he saw that she was having trouble beginning her story.

"I told you about Bash, how he and I were engaged and that my family did not know of this." Arianna confirmed. When Blazhe nodded, she continued.

"The main reason that my grandmother wanted Daymen and I to marry so quickly was so that Hungary would have a king, someone who knew what they were doing. I wasn't raised to be the ruler, my little brother, Nikola, was but he was too young to take it. Emese thought it would be better for to marry me off than to let my mother, or I, rule. However, that was only if my father were to die. He got better."

"So then your engagement to Daymen was no longer needed." Blazhe stated.

"Exactly. I could come back here and marry Bash. I told my parents of this as soon as my father had gotten better and they were ecstatic. We were making plans for them to come meet Bash and King Henry. Emese did not like that I was going to break off the engagement to Daymen, though I never told her the real reason why. You've met her, you know that she would have gone mad knowing that I was going to marry a King's bastard." Arianna explained.

"Ah, yes. Emese would have thrown a fit and demanded that your parents had lost their minds letting you do such a thing." Blazhe commented dryly.

"Oh she would have done more than that, I'm sure. I never told Daymen why I was breaking off the engagement either. I went to him a few days after my father had gotten better and told him that I no longer needed him. With my father in good health again, we did not need to be married and Nikola would be the king in time. Daymen did not respond well to this." Arianna paused, remembering that awful time.

_"__Daymen!" Arianna called, quickening her pace to reach Daymen at the end of hall. _

_"__Arianna. So good to see you." Daymen replied with a hint of sarcasm. _

_"__There is something I need to tell you." Arianna began. "My father has recovered. He's in good health, and now my country does not need your marriage proposal." _

_"__I'm sorry, what?" Daymen was outraged at this. _

_"__You knew all along that the only reason we were to be wed was due to my father falling ill. Now he is better and since our countries did not make an alliance, I'm not breaking anything. This was just a precaution, in case my father did die. My grandmother wanted to make sure someone, in her words, capable could rule. However, with my father being well again, he is still to rule and you and I no longer have to stay engaged." Arianna was saying all this with such a light and happy tone, while Daymen on the other hand was becoming more and more angry. _

_"__You stupid, little girl." Daymen hissed. "You think that you can just take this away from me! You are not calling off this engagement, no one will know of this! We will get married and I will be king. Do you understand?" _

_Arianna took a step back from Daymen. "Daymen, this is not negotiable. It has already been decided. My parents have dissolved the engagement; word will spread of it soon. I will not be your wife." _

_Daymen laughed at this, scaring Arianna. "You think that you can do this? Think again, girl. You will pay for what you have done and I will be king, with or without you." _

_Arianna just watched as Daymen stalked away from her. He was mad! There was no other option, he had to be mad. She always knew that he was a tyrant but this? This was a whole new level for him. She feared for her life, but soon, that wouldn't matter. She would be leaving with her family for France in just a few days, where she could be with Bash again. _

"Aria, why didn't you tell me he threatened you?" Blazhe interrupted.

"Blazhe, there's more." Arianna's voice was small and quiet, and she didn't look up once while she spoke.

_Arianna was sitting Nikola's room, talking about their trip to France. Nikola had always acted like an older brother, even though he was two years younger than Arianna, and he was questioning her about the man she was to marry. _

_"__So this Sebastian, he has treated you well?" Nikola asked. _

_Arianna laughed. "Yes, Nik. He is wonderful and I love him. So please be nice." _

_Nikola scoffed. "Aren't I always nice?" _

_Arianna gave him a look. "Okay, I'll be nice. But even though you are older, you are still my sister and I have to look out for you." _

_"__I know, I know. Just as I look out for you because I'm older." Arianna said. "You'll love France though. It's gorgeous! And I'm sure that Francis can give you some advice about taking over a throne." _

_Nikola was about to reply when there was shouting coming from the hall. Arianna put her finger to her lips, indicting Nikola to stay quiet. Nikola nodded, grabbing his sword from the table close to the door. Arianna put her ear to the door and listened, not hearing anything. _

_"__I'm going to go check on mother and father. Stay here and don't leave until I get back." Arianna whispered, heading to the secret passageway that was hidden in Nikola's room. Nikola nodded, signaling for her to go. _

_Being as quiet as possible, Arianna snuck through the passageways, coming out from behind a painting next to her parent's room. Checking to make sure no one was around, Arianna quickly exited and knocked on her parent's door, trying not to be too loud. When there was no answer, Arianna began to panic. Not wanting to wait, she entered their chambers only to fall to the ground. A hand flew to her mouth, trying to keep her sobs quiet. There in the bed were her parents, dead, blood covering the bed and floor. _

_Gathering herself off the floor, Arianna walked over to the bed, shaking her mother and father, hoping that by some miracle, they would awaken. After a few moments of this useless effort, Arianna fell to the ground once more, not caring that she was in a pool of their blood and that there was blood all over her hands. They couldn't have been dead long, blood still pouring out of the wound in their chests. Suddenly, Arianna's head snapped up. _

_"__Nikola!" she whispered. _

_Quickly, she darted out of the room and back into the passage way that lead to her brother's room, hoping that she would get there in time. When she barged into the room, Nikola looked shocked. _

_"__Aria, what is all over you? Is that blood?" Nikola asked with wide eyes. _

_"__Get your things. We have to leave now. It's not safe here anymore. Quickly!' Arianna demanded. "I'm going to go pack a bag or two as quickly as I can and then I'll be back. We must leave after that. Do you understand?"_

_"__Aria, what's going on?" Nikola was visibly shaking and terrified. _

_"__There is no time! Hurry!" Arianna snapped, making her way back to the passageway to go to her room. _

_"__Wait!" Nikola called. "Take this." He handed her two daggers. "Just in case." _

_Arianna nodded in thanks before taking off. She ran as fast as she could to her room. It wasn't a far walk, the passageways being much quicker than walking around the castle, but it seemed to take hours rather than just minutes. Arianna was about to enter her room when she heard voices. _

_"__Where is she?" a man shouted. _

_"__I don't know! He said she would be here." Another man responded. _

_"__Well, she's not. What do we do?" the first man asked. _

_"__How am I supposed to know? If we don't do it, he'll be mad." The second man said. _

_Arianna peaked through the curtain hiding the entrance where she stood, seeing that the two men were facing away from her. Taking her opening, she snuck out of the curtain to hide behind the changing screen a few feet away. Gripping the daggers in each hand, she knew what she had to do. Taking a deep breath, Arianna lunged out and stabbed one of the men in the neck, killing him instantly. _

_"__What the hell?" the other man said. "You bitch!" _

_Arianna removed the dagger and lunged at the other man, only to miss and be struck by the man's sword. Groaning and holding her side, she lunged again, catching him of guard. She stabbed his arm, causing him to drop his sword. _

_"__You'll pay for that!" the man yelled, scrabbling to pick up his weapon. _

_The man did not see the other dagger Arianna had, allowing her to stab him in the neck, like she did the other man. He fell to the ground, lifeless, blood flowing out of him like water in stream. Arianna didn't have time to think about what was happening, rushing around her room trying to get all she could into a bag. Stuffing a few dresses, some money, and Bash's letters in her bag, she was about to leave when she heard voices coming from outside her door. _

_"__Did they kill her?" Daymen asked. Arianna's eyes widened at the sound of his voice. _

_"__I believe so, sir." A man answered. _

_Knowing that they would be in soon, Arianna had to act quickly. Grabbing one of the men, she rolled him under her bed, out of sight, while she pulled the other one onto her bed, making it look like she was killed in her sleep. She had just pulled the covers over the man, when she heard the door start to be open. Arianna paused momentarily before coming to her senses and darting into the passageway. She did not stay to see if her plan worked, instead she ran quickly to her brother, hoping she wasn't too late. When she got to his room, she heard struggling and yelling coming from inside. Bursting into the room, she saw Nikola struggling to fight two men, one already badly injured. _

_Arianna watched, trying to find an opening so she could help her brother. The injured man started to fall back from the fight, letting the other one handle it. Arianna took this opportunity to lunge at the man, only to miss and falling to the ground. _

_"__What do we have here?" the injured man chuckled. _

_"__Kill her! We have to kill all of them!" the man fighting Nikola shouted. _

_"__My pleasure." The injured man said darkly. "But first, I'll have some fun." _

_Arianna knew what that meant and she did not want to be his plaything before she died. Without thinking twice, Arianna threw a dagger at the man, landing it in his throat. Eyes going wide, the man fell to the ground, knocking over a candle in the process. The curtains were engulfed in flames, spreading quickly. _

_Nikola let out a cry of pain, causing Arianna to turn her attention back to her brother. The other man had stabbed Nikola in the stomach, about to deliver the finishing blow when Arianna threw a book at his head. Nikola was on the floor, almost unconscious, so the man started walking over to her. Not knowing what to do now, Arianna quickly got to her feet, trying to think of a plan. _

_Noticing the fire, the man spoke. "Guess we won't need to explain what happened here. The fire will do it for us. We planned to set your whole castle on fire anyway. One less room now." _

_"__Why are you doing this?" Arianna shouted. "What will you gain?"_

_"__Silly girl. We will gain your country. Don't you see what is happening? You angered Daymen. You'll pay with your life." The man said. _

_Arianna now realized what was going on. Daymen said she would pay, she just didn't think he would kill her whole family. Yet here he was, her parents already dead, and Nikola and her about to join them. _

_"__No." Arianna whispered. "I will not let him win. I will not let him win!" Arianna lunged forward, knocking the man to the ground, his sword flying out of his hand. Reaching out, Arianna grabbed the sword and stabbed the man in the gut. He groaned, blood spurting out of his mouth before he fell over. _

_Arianna breathing heavily, trying to gather all her thoughts. She had just killed four men, taken four lives without even stopping to think about it. She knew she had to, but that didn't make it any easier. Lost in her thoughts, she briefly forgot about Nikola injured on the ground. He cried out in pain, snapping her back into reality. _

_Turning to face him, she saw that his leg had caught fire and he was trying to put it out. Grabbing the blanket from his bed, she put out his leg, but not in time to save it from being burned. _

_"__Aria…" Nikola choked out. _

_"__No, Nik. You will not die on me." Arianna cried, grabbing his bag and helping him up. _

_With one arm around Arianna's shoulders, the two disappeared into the passageway, taking the one that came out near the stables. Nikola had a hard time walking, even with Arianna's help, but they made it. Getting her horse, Arianna got Nikola on first before jumping on behind him. Taking off, Arianna spared one look back at her home, seeing flames consuming everything in the windows. Facing the road again, Arianna rode as fast as she could, hoping that she could get Nikola to Vienna before he died in her arms._


	34. Chapter 33

**I'm so sorry about how messed up this chapter was before. It is all fixed now and I apologize again for how terrible it was. It's all fixe ****snow! Please enjoy it(:**

After Arianna had finished telling Blazhe everything, she didn't speak another word. Silent tears were streaming down her face and Blazhe pulled her into his embrace, wishing that he could've helped her then. He knew that his brother was hungry for power and was capable of doing terrible things but he would have never suspected this.

After a few moments in his embrace, Arianna pushed him away, stood up, and walked away. Blazhe was going to go after her but he had a feeling that she needed to be alone. The entire walk back to the castle, Blazhe was going over everything Arianna had told him. He felt so foolish for not seeing it before. Daymen had been unusually cheerful, even though he had supposedly found out that his fiancée was dead.

Daymen had tried to get on the throne quickly, and Blazhe had thought this was odd, but Daymen was his blood so he always tried to think better of his family. Now, he didn't know what to think of his brother. Daymen was still family but he had come to care deeply for Arianna. To learn that it had been Daymen that killed her family, that tried to kill her, he was unsure how he should feel.

Blazhe was sure of one thing though, he could not allow his brother to marry Arianna.

* * *

Blazhe was walking around the grounds the next morning, trying to think of some way to stop the marriage between his brother and Arianna. Daymen wouldn't be back to French Court for a few more days, trying to help their father quicken the marriage and trying to earn his approval using her. Blazhe had stayed behind to negotiate some sort of trade with King Henry, a friendship between the two countries. France and Bulgaria had never been enemies, but they had never been allies either. Blazhe's job was to try and remedy that, especially since Hungary was such good allies with France.

Arianna had stayed out of sight since they talked and he couldn't blame her. Revealing all of that must have been hard for her and he knew that he was not that one she wanted to be telling. It was Sebastian. Arianna had told him of their relationship when there were back in Hungary.

Walking by the stables, Blazhe saw Sebastian entering on his horse when an idea struck him. Not sure how well it would work he headed inside.

"You must be Sebastian." Blazhe said once he was in the stables.

Bash gave him a funny look. "That I am. I do not know who you are though."

"Forgive me. I am Blazhe Draganov, Prince of Bulgaria." Blazhe introduced.

Bash's expression changed immediately. "Oh, I did not realize."

Blazhe noticed how tense and stern Bash's face got. "Please, don't get upset. I'm here to offer friendship. I know of your past with Arianna and I wanted to show you that I am here to help her."

Bash just watched Blazhe as he spoke, trying to figure out if he could really trust him. As soon as he said that Arianna told him of their history, Bash knew that he could at least be civil to this Draganov. Bash was about to respond when Mary walked into the stables.

"Oh, hello. I don't believe we've met." Mary said, addressing Blazhe.

"No, we have not." Blazhe bowed to Mary. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Queen Mary. I am Blazhe Draganov, Prince of Bulgaria."

Mary gave Bash a look when she heard who he was. "Oh, well welcome to France."

Blazhe laughed at her tone. "Sebastian had the same tone. Please, I'm not here as an enemy. Arianna is a very good friend of mine, and she has trusted me with her secrets. I'm here as a friend, unlike my brother."

Mary had a look of surprise at this. "Aria has told you about what happened here before?"

"Yes, she did. She told me when we visited her in Hungary, trying to get my brother to find a different wife. Once my brother is set on something, though, he usually doesn't stray from it." Blazhe explained. "I'm sorry for interrupting whatever you two were going to discuss."

"Oh, no trouble at all." Mary said, trying to sound as pleasant as possible. "Is there something that you needed to speak with Bash about?"

"Actually, now that you're here, it's something that both of you might be able to help me with." Blazhe started. "We need to get Arianna out of the engagement with Daymen."

Bash snorted at this and Mary smacked him on the arm. "Bash!"

"I see that I have struck a nerve." Blazhe commented causing Bash to shot him a dark look.

"I'm sorry about him, Blazhe. He's been in a bit of a mood." Mary apologized.

"It's fine, Your Grace. I understand that I may be overstepping boundaries with this but I know that Bash cares for Aria and I know that you do, too, as her friend." Blazhe explained.

"Do you have any ideas on how to do this? Or if Aria even wants this?" Bash asked, not looking at Blazhe.

"I'm not sure if I can get her out of it but I have to try. As for if she wants to, you should know better than anyone that she wants out of it." Bash finally met Blazhe's gaze and noticed there was a slight pain in Bash's eyes. "I'll leave you two alone for now. If you wish to help or find out anything that could be useful, please let me know. Good day." Blazhe then left Mary and Bash alone.

* * *

Arianna had stayed hidden from people as long as could the morning after telling Blazhe what happened. She had done a fairly good job of it so far, not seeing her grandmother and avoiding Mary and her ladies but she knew she had to come out and face the world eventually.

After having breakfast in her room and dressing for the day, Arianna decided to go try and talk to the girls, hoping that they had something that could cheer her up. However, she was not able to see the girls due to Blazhe running into her on the way.

"Aria!" he called after seeing her turn a corner.

"Blazhe, how are you?" Arianna asked, as if nothing had happened between them.

"The better question is, how are you?" Blazhe countered now walking with Arianna down the hallway.

"I'm doing as well as I can at the moment." Arianna replied. "You haven't told anyone, have you?"

"No, Aria, it's okay. I haven't told anyone but you should." Blazhe told her.

Arianna shook her head furiously. "That's not an option, Blazhe. I shouldn't have even told you, but I figured you should know since we will soon be related."

"Aria, I will get you out of this. You cannot marry my brother." Blazhe had pulled her to a wall and his voice had gotten deadly serious. "There has to be a way out of this."

"Blazhe, there's no way out of this. Just give it up. I knew my fate the moment my grandmother told me that Daymen knew I was alive. I've accepted it. You have to, as well." Arianna's voice held no emotion as she spoke.

"Aria." Blazhe sighed.

"Aria!" another voice came from down the hall.

Arianna was excited to see who it was and met them in the middle. "Greer! Kenna! It's so good to see you."

Kenna hugged Arianna and then eyed Blazhe. "And who is this?"

"Oh, excuse my manners. Kenna, Greer, this is Blazhe Draganov, one of the princes of Bulgaria. Blazhe, these are two of Mary's ladies. Kenna and Greer." Arianna introduced.

"Your Grace." Kenna and Greer said at the same time.

Blazhe laughed at this. "Please, please, call me Blazhe. None of this your grace nonsense. It's lovely to meet the two of you." Blazhe took each of their hands in his and kissed them.

"Blazhe, enough flattery." Arianna joked seeing each girl blush. "Now where are you two off to?"

"There's a Frost Fair going on outside. Mary tried to take Charles and Henry to the one in village but their carriage got ambushed so Bash had one held here." Greer explained.

"Please, join us!" Kenna said, linking her arm with Arianna's. "Both of you."

"I'm not so—"

"That sounds like a lovely idea, Kenna. Thank you but I have some business to attend to but make sure Aria has a great time." Blazhe cut Arianna off, knowing she was about to protest to go sulk some more. Blazhe on the other hand was going to try and see if there was something he could do to stop the marriage.

The three made it outside and Arianna was speechless by the sight. The snow was coming down hard but there were games and children playing games. She smiled thinking about how thoughtful Bash could be at times, doing all of this for his brothers. On the walk, Greer and Kenna had filled them in on how Bash and Mary weren't agreeing about what to do with the boys.

"Well I agree with Mary. They should be here at the home they've always known. Look at them, they're having the time of their lives." Kenna said, pointing out Charles and Henry to Arianna and Blazhe. .

"I think that's the best, too. It'd be wrong to send them off in the midst of all this." Arianna agreed.

"Who's that?" Greer asked, nodding to a man standing off in the distance by a tree.

"I don't know, some servant perhaps." Kenna replied.

"He looks ill at ease, don't you think?" Arianna commented.

Just then there was shouting coming on from in front of them where Charles and Henry were playing. One of them fell to the ground with a thud and Kenna ran over to see if he was all right.

"Charles! Oh, Charles." Kenna cooed. "Come here. Are you alright?"

Kenna lifted his mask to reveal that it wasn't Charles under the mask, but some other boy in his cloak. Arianna quickly went over to who they thought was Henry to get the same reaction. Henry was not behind the mask but another boy.

"Mary!" Arianna shouted, looking frantically around for the boys. She had promised Francis she'd help take care of them and now they were missing.

"What is it?" Mary asked running over to the girls.

"We can't find the princes." Greer said with fear in her voice.

"Everyone! Masks off at once!" Bash announced coming from behind the girls.

When all the children took their masks off, Henry and Charles were not among any of them.

"Bash." Mary called, terrified.

"They're gone." Bash said cryptically.

The grounds were cleared immediately and Mary was giving orders to Greer and Kenna to go search for the boys all around the castle and in their rooms. Arianna was about to ask what she could do to help when Bash came running down the hall towards them.

"Mary, wait!" Bash shouted, as he got closer to the two.

"I'll, uh, just be going then. Let me know when you find the boys." Arianna said excusing herself seeing that the two needed alone time.

Honestly, Arianna was happy that she was able to get away as quickly as possible. It was painful for her to watch as Mary and Bash were becoming close. Even though she had no place to be jealous, it still hurt to see him with her, with anyone else. Quickly walking down the halls, she made her way back to her room without running into to anyone. Once safely behind her door, she let out a deep breathe and sank to the floor. Arianna did not know how much more she could pretend that nothing was bothering when in fact, all she felt was broken and empty.


	35. Chapter 34

**I'm so sorry that it's taking so much longer between chapters now. I'm a bit stuck with how to go with this story, especially with where the show is going. I'm trying to get the chapters out quicker but life gets in the way at times. Again, I apologize and I hope that everyone still reads my story and enjoys it. I read all the reviews and appreciate them all and I get excited when I see that someone new has favorited or followed this story. Thank you. I'm writing some now so hopefully I'll get through this block. **

"Grandmother?" Arianna called from her chair.

"Yes, kedves?" Emese answered, not looking up from whatever document she was reading.

The next morning, Arianna decided to try a different approach with Emese. Directly asking wasn't working, so maybe if she tried asking from a different angle, she could get something, anything, out of her grandmother.

"Do you think Daymen will make a good king?" Arianna asked, playing it off as if she really wanted to know.

"Of course. Why do you ask?" Emese put down the papers and focused her full attention on Arianna.

"Well, I'm just worried with what kind of queen I'll be and I want to have a wonderful king at my side." Arianna almost choked on her words as they came out, leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

"Daymen will make a great king, Arianna. Why do you think I chose him for you? Couldn't let you pick your own husband, now could I?" Emese went back to reading after she said this.

Arianna clenched her teeth, trying hard not to say what she really wanted to say. If she was going to get answers, she needed to play along. "You're right, grandmother. He is a great man. Though, he did mention something the other night at dinner that made me wonder."

"Hmmm?" Emese sounded, still not bothering to look up.

Arianna had gotten up from her chair and walked over to a window so she could see Emese in the reflection, judge her reaction without making it obvious that she was looking for one.

"Daymen asked if I thought the fire wasn't an accident. That maybe someone wanted to kill us." Arianna watched as Emese stop what she was doing, as if she was frozen.

"He said that?" Emese asked, completely baffled.

"Yes, I told him what little I remember and he said something about how maybe someone wanted to kill my family. Do you know why anyone would want to kill us, grandmother?" Arianna asked, trying to sound as naïve and scared as her grandmother thought she was.

"Kedves, you shouldn't be asking this stuff. You don't need to worry yourself with it." Emese waved off.

"But I do need to worry about it." Arianna turned to face Emese now. "I am Queen, I need to know what is going on, if there is someone trying to kill me."

"You may be Queen, Arianna, but that does not mean you need to know everything. That's the king's job. You're there to look pretty and give heirs. That is all." Emese snapped. "Now if you don't mind, I need to finish looking over these papers. Alone."

"You can't lie forever, grandmother." Arianna spat as she walked out of the room, not able to stand being around her any longer.

Even though she didn't get a lot, she got enough to know that Emese did have some hand in the murder of her parents. The way she froze and the way she tried to wave off Arianna proved that. As she was walking around the castle with no destination in mind, she wondered would it help knowing her grandmother had something to do with it.

Arianna had already accepted that she was to marry Daymen no matter what, so why was she still trying to get answers? She was there, her parents are dead, and knowing won't bring them back. Arianna continued just walking, not really knowing where she was headed until she heard all the commotion. She had ended up in the main hall where there were servants setting everything up for Catherine's execution.

Looking around, she saw Mary, Bash, Kenna and Greer standing together. Unsure if she should join, she stayed in her spot, watching how calm Catherine was about orchestrating her own beheading.

"Must I do everything?" Catherine questioned allowed. "Shall I catch my head in my own hands, too? When can we talk about my tomb?"

Henry sighed at this question. "A Florentine sculptor, twenty tons of marble, I can't afford it. After the hundred musicians, the dozens ships made of silver and gold."

"Symbolic of my journey to heaven." Catherine told Henry, picking up a rose and smelling it. "I'm not asking for a fleet!"

"You're not headed to heaven, either." Henry told her. "You're dragging this out."

Catherine made her way over to the centerpiece to replace the rose. "You have to wait for final word on Bash's legitimization, anyway. Why kill me if the line of succession reverts to my sons?"

"You're a treasonous adulator." Henry stated, almost looking hurt.

Catherine's expression did not change however. "Then I'll continue with the seating chart." She put the rose in the vase and then turned to face the group. "Mary! The feast will be held there. Choose your place of honor."

Mary looked confused when Catherine told her this but didn't object to what she was asked.

"You are going to die. What they write about your execution won't matter." Henry told Catherine, getting angry.

"It will to my children." Catherine spat. "Fifty musicians! I'll reduce the gold inlay on my tomb!" she called to Henry as he walked off.

Just then, the trumpets sounded, and Arianna knew meant a royal had arrived, she just hoped it wasn't the royal she thought it was.

"What is that?" Mary asked.

"There's a royal visitor." Arianna stated from near the group, having just silently observed the display that was taking place.

Mary looked at Arianna questioningly before turning to look at Bash and the girls. Arianna held her breath as the visitor got closer and when she saw whom it was, she let out a sigh of relief.

"French Court has gone to hell." The visitor said, looking around the room. "But I'm here now, dear."

"Mother." Mary smiled, looking half relieved and half terrified that her mother was here.

Mary's mother had requested alone time with her daughter, and the two left, leaving only Bash, Kenna and Greer standing with Arianna. Arianna was about to say something, anything, to break the tension but Bash walked away before she could.

"Well that was rude." Greer announced.

"Can you blame him?" Arianna asked, watching him walk away.

"Have you two talked since he got back?" Kenna watched Arianna stare after Bash.

"No, I've been trying to keep my distance but it's so hard. Especially now with him and Mary. What am I going to do?" Arianna put a hand over her eyes, trying not to think about how close Mary and Bash have gotten.

"Oh, Aria. You know that Mary did this to save Francis." Greer consoled.

"At first, yes. But now? They've become close, and if they're to be wed, they'll have to consummate the marriage, and oh god. I can't even think about that." Arianna started to feel tears form in her eyes at the thought of Bash being with someone else.

"I'm sorry, Aria." Kenna wrapped an arm around Arianna, trying to think of something to say.

"It's fine. Now if you'll excuse me." Arianna said, not wanting to be around anyone else for the day. However, she did not get away that easy.

"No, we will not excuse you." Kenna told her, keeping a firm grip on her shoulders.

"Kenna!" Greer exclaimed.

"What? Aria is our friend, and she is hurting. We need to comfort her the best we can and that does not mean we let her sit alone and sulk." Kenna explained. "Come with us, just sit with us. We don't have to talk, but at least you'll have company that you like."

Arianna smiled, being reminded why she always liked Kenna. Always speaking her mind and being a little bolder than the other girls. "Thank you, Kenna. And you, too Greer. I'm glad that I made friends like you here."

* * *

The three girls were sitting in Kenna's chambers when Mary came in, looking rather disheveled.

"Greer! There you are. I've been looking for you. I have a question." Mary stopped before she could ask. "Oh, Aria. I didn't expect you here."

"Mary." Arianna nodded towards her.

Mary and Arianna were quiet after for a minute and the other two girls just watched them, wondering what would happen.

"Oh enough!" Greer broke the silence. "We all used to be friends. Just because life has taken us all in a different way doesn't mean we need to stop being friends."

Mary nodded. "Greer is right. I'm sorry that I haven't seen you much since…well since everything, Aria. I just didn't want you to be upset with me."

"Oh, Mary." Arianna started. "I'm not upset with you. I'm jealous. I understand why you did it, and I can't change it because I'm bound to marry Daymen. It just hurts seeing him with someone else, is all."

Mary came over and hugged Arianna, taking her a bit by surprise. "I wish things were different."

"I do, as well." Arianna admitted sadly.

"Now that that's all sorted out, what is it you needed, Mary?" Kenna asked.

"Oh, yes." Mary looked at Arianna carefully before saying the next part. "Bash and I are going to elope today. I need something to keep warm and I was hoping you had something, Greer."

"Elope?" Arianna's voice was a bit too high when she spoke.

"Well with all the waiting from the pope and my mother does not like what I've done, we thought that if we elope, it'd force the pope to legitimize Bash. And then maybe my mother will stop whatever she might be planning." Mary explained, not meeting Arianna's eyes.

"I'm sure I can find something for you, Mary." Greer told her.

"Thank you." Mary then left, not wanting to see how Arianna was really feeling.

"Aria?" Kenna called.

Arianna could not hear her, as she was lost in her own head. Mary and Bash were going to be married, today. They were going to elope and by morning, they would consummate the marriage and nothing could change that. It wasn't until she realized that she had stopped breathing that she noticed Kenna and Greer trying to get her attention.

"I'm sorry, what?" Arianna asked, taking in a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Greer asked, concern all over her face.

"I'm fine." Arianna lied. "Don't look at me like that. I have to be fine."

"Aria, we're here for you. You can tell us anything." Kenna told her.

"I know, it's just, it's hard enough to deal with when I don't talk about it. I can't imagine how hard it'll be once it's all out there." Arianna explained, playing with her hands.

"If you ever want to talk about it, we're here for you. At any time." Greer told her. "Now come on, I need to find something for Mary. Will you help?"

Arianna nodded, not trusting herself to be alone anymore. The three girls then went into Greer's room to find something. However, the whole time, Arianna was just thinking about how she was finding something for Bash's new fiancée. Oh how fast things had changed.


	36. Chapter 35

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's a little longer than some of the others and it's got some really good Bash and Arianna stuff. So please enjoy all of it and leave me nice things! I'm stuck on the next chapter so it might be a little while before I update again but I'll try! Until then, check out my new story and let me know what you think of it? I really hope you enjoy this chapter though! Love is appreciated. **

Arianna had helped Greer and Kenna find something for Mary and together they went to find her. Arianna was not happy that she was finding something for the woman who would marry Bash but she had to remember that Mary was her friend. If nothing else, she did want Bash to be happy and she hoped that, if they wed, Mary would make him happy.

"Here it is. My mother had it packed deep in one of my trunks." Greer said, finding Mary standing in the hallway.

"Well it's beautiful, but will it be warm enough?" Mary asked confused by what Greer was giving her.

"This isn't for your journey to the chapel." Arianna told her.

"It's for you to cover your face as you and Bash stand before God and say your vows." Greer told her, but something at the end of the hall caught her attention. "Is that Lola?"

Arianna turned to see Lola walking down the hall, but the interesting thing was that Francis was only a few feet behind her.

"Why is she with Francis?" Kenna wondered aloud.

"Mary!" Lola announced when she reached the group. "Kenna, Greer, Aria. Your Grace."

The girls all hugged and once they were apart, Arianna went over to Francis and pulled him into a hug.

"You're back. Both of you." Mary stated, as Arianna was still talking to Francis.

"I missed you." Arianna told him. "It's been dreadful without you."

"I've missed you, too, Aria. I'm sorry that I didn't write but that one letter." Francis apologized.

"It's fine, I'm just glad you're back." Arianna was smiling now, not listening to what the girls were saying behind her. "You'll tell me about your travels later?"

"Of course, Aria." Francis told her.

"Good." Arianna nodded and walked over to the girls.

"I'll get settled then." Lola said, "I'm so happy to be back."

"Yes, we're happy to have you back." Mary said, looking at Francis rather than Lola.

Arianna linked arms with the girls and the four left Mary and Francis in the hall together, though Arianna was wondering why Lola was acting a little strange. She would have to ask once they were alone. The girls had almost reached Lola's chambers when Blazhe came from around a corner.

"Blazhe." Arianna greeted.

"Aria, Greer, Kenna, Lola." Blazhe acknowledged each of them. "May I borrow Aria for a bit?"

"Of course." Kenna said, nudging Arianna towards Blazhe.

"Thank you. I hope to see you ladies later." Blazhe winked at them before walking away with Arianna.

"Do you have to flirt with them all the time?" Arianna asked.

"Me? Flirting? Why, Aria, I'm shocked you would say such a thing." Blazhe joked, feigning hurt.

"Oh hush you. What did you need to speak with me about?" Arianna asked once they were alone in the halls.

"Aria, I need you to be straight with me." Arianna nodded. "Did you and Bash ever have sex?"

"Blazhe!" Arianna's face turned a deep red and she was looking at the floor now. "How could you ask me such a thing?"

"Answer me, please, Aria." Blazhe pushed.

"No, Blazhe, if you must know. We did not. We wanted to wait until we were married for that." Arianna said, face still red as ever.

"Damn." Blazhe muttered. "I was hoping that if you had, we could use that to get you out the engagement."

Arianna sighed deeply. "Blazhe, there is no point in trying to call of the engagement. Even if you somehow were successful in doing so, we know what Daymen is capable of. I don't want to take the risk of him hurting the people I care about."

"I'm not going to stop trying, Aria." Blazhe told her. "I won't have you marrying my brother."

"Try all you like, Blazhe. There is nothing you can do." Arianna walked away from Blazhe, unable to listen to him anymore.

It was a nice thought, for Blazhe to try and find a way out for Arianna. However, that's all it ever will be, a thought. Even if, by some sort of miracle, Blazhe found a way for Arianna to get out of the engagement, Daymen would never allow it. He would kill her to be king. Arianna sighed deeply, staring out a nearby window. She wished that Blazhe could find a way for her to get out of the engagement, that by some miracle, Daymen would leave her be and she could be free again. Though, she knew that would never happen.

Arianna was on her way to the main hall, being called there by the king. Apparently every one who was remotely important was here so it must've been something important. Arianna was standing in the back next to Lola, trying not to draw attention to herself.

"A messenger has arrived," King Henry started, "with news about the line of succession of England. Their queen is dead."

Everyone in the hall started muttering among themselves, obviously not sure how to handle this. Arianna watched as Mary and her mother shared a look. Mary looked more terrified than anything while her mother just looked proud. How can they just force Mary to take over a country? This is what baffled Arianna.

"And she's named me her successor?" Mary asked.

"After all her deliberations, they say she died suddenly, in the night. But England is yours, by bloodline, by right. You must claim it immediately. Or you cousin Elizabeth will seize it from your grasp. You risk everything if you don't act now. If you want the Vatican's righteous support for anything you do for the rest of your life, you will claim England now. If you want France as an ally, you will claim England now. If you want to take England, you will need the next king of France by your side and you will wed one of my sons, tonight." King Henry had come to stand before Mary as he was making this long speech, trying to intimidate her obviously.

Mary's face then took on a look of determination. "I will take my life into my own hands. And I will not be bullied by you."

Arianna smiled, enjoying Mary's strength. Arianna watched as King Henry strode out of the main hall, clearly angered by the fact that Mary, a girl, stood up to him. Mary's mother quickly left after that and Mary went back to her room. Arianna stood in the hall for a moment longer, looking at Bash. His face had started to bruise and all Arianna wanted to do was run over and take care of him.

Bash felt a pair of eyes on him but he tried his hardest not to look. He was focusing on looking any where but at the girl who was watching him. Unable to contain it, Bash looked across the hall and locked eyes with Arianna. Arianna's eyebrows furrowed together in sadness as a look of hurt flashed across her face. Bash was sure it was the same look he was wearing now. Bash watched as she shook her head and quickly walked out of sight. His eyes watched her form until she was no longer visible to him. Sighing, Bash made his way back to his room, knowing that he needed to take care of his bruises but wanting someone else to help.

"Arianna!" Lola called.

Arianna looked back and saw Lola running to her. "Lola, no need to run. I stopped. What is it?"

"I saw that." Lola stated, once she had caught up to Arianna.

"I'm sorry?" Arianna questioned.

"The way you and Bash looked at each other. It was heartbreaking." Lola told her, putting a hand on her arm.

Arianna shook her head. "That was nothing. It's just…it's still hard, Lola."

"I know. I wish I could help." Lola was frowning now, watching Arianna closely.

"Come now. No need to worry over things we cannot change." Arianna said, putting on a fake smile.

The two were walking down the hall silently when they came across Blazhe.

"Lola, Aria." Blazhe greeted.

"Blazhe." The two girls said together.

"Where are you two lovely ladies headed?" Blazhe asked, walking down the hall with Lola and Arianna.

"We were just walking back to our chambers together, that's all." Arianna replied.

"Well, allow me to escort both of you there." Blazhe offered, standing between the two now, holding an arm out for each of them.

"Why thank you, Blazhe. That is very kind of you." Lola said, taking his arm.

Arianna nodded and took the other arm and the three walked in silence back to their rooms. They came to Lola's first and Blazhe bowed, kissing her hand before she disappeared behind the door.

"What is it you really wanted?" Arianna asked once Lola was gone.

"Why would you think I have some kind of agenda? Can I not just say hello?" Blazhe asked, raising an eyebrow at Arianna.

"Because I know you, and with everything going on, I'm sure you have something to say." Arianna told him, staing straight ahead.

Blazhe exhaled deeply. "Fine, you caught me. I just wanted to see how you were. With what you told me and now with Bash and Mary's possible wedding, I just worry about you."

"I'm fine." Arianna lied. "Who cares if Bash and Mary get married. He is not mine, he is hers now. I need to respect that. Besides, I'm engaged to Daymen. It shouldn't make me upset to see them together. Not at all."

"Oh really?" Arianna nodded. "Then why do you still wear the ring?" Blazhe pointed to the chain around her neck.

"I just…" Arianna trailed off, staring at the ring she pulled out.

"Go tell him." Blazhe said.

"What?" Arianna asked, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Go tell Bash everything. Go be with him. Daymen is to be back in two days time. This will be your only chance. Bash needs to know what happened. There is no reason to keep him in the dark any longer." Blazhe explained.

"But it won't change anything." Arianna started.

"Aria. It may not change anything but it will make you feel better and he will finally understand. If he is to be wed to Mary, doesn't he deserve to know what happened?" Blazhe asked.

Arianna opened her mouth but nothing came out. She stood there, in front of Blazhe for a long time thinking this over. Blazhe was right, all she wanted to do was tell Bash everything, just to tell him. She was tired of keeping this a secret, it was killing her. Even though Bash would want to kill Daymen, at least he would know why she had to do this. Arianna nodded and hugged Blazhe.

"Thank you." Arianna whispered.

"Go." Blazhe told her.

Arianna raced down to Bash's room, hoping that he would listen to her, hear what she had to say. When she reached his room, she saw that his door was open and Mary was in there. Arianna was about to announce her presence when she heard a little of what they were discussing. Keeping quiet, she stood outside and listened to what they were saying.

"I can't marry you." Mary said.

"Yes you can." Bash told her. "Don't let your mother put ideas in your head about my ability to protect you because I will be king. We can force the Pope's hand."

"I know that." Mary said.

"With me you are free and wild, you can be who you are and I will always put you first." Bash explained.

Arianna put a hand over her mouth, trying not to sob out loud. She knew that Bash and Mary had become close but to hear this, to hear how he felt about her.

"Please, don't." Mary sounded sad now. "You know that you are not thinking of me when you say all these things."

"What do you mean?" Bash asked.

"Bash, I love you." Mary told him. "But I'm not in love with you. Just as you are not in love with me. You want it to be Arianna."

"Mary…" Bash started.

"No. I know that when you were saying all this, you meant some of it but you want it to be Arianna. You want to be married to her, Bash. You're in love with her. I can see it when she walks into a room. Your gaze immediately goes to her." Mary pointed out.

Arianna held her breath, hoping Bash would say something, anything.

"That doesn't matter, Mary. She's engaged to someone else. She's no longer mine." Bash said quietly.

"Then why do you still wear the ring?" Mary asked.

There was silence and Arianna looked down at the ring around her neck. She was surprised to hear that Bash was still wearing his. She thought he would've taken it off by now.

"Mary, I can still make you happy." Bash said.

"Bash, I do love you." Mary told him. "But I'm in love with Francis. I love him more. Just as you love Arianna more."

Arianna heard Mary's footsteps coming towards her so she hid as best as she could in the shadows. Consumed in her own thoughts, Arianna managed to go unnoticed by Mary as she walked away from Bash's room. Arianna chanced a look in to see Bash standing with his back towards the door. Taking a deep breath, she spoke.

"Bash." Arianna was shocked at quiet her own voice came out.

"Aria?" Bash turned around to face her now. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not sure." Arianna said quietly. "Actually, I am. I came to tell you everything. I know that it may not change anything, that you may still hate me and that I'll still be forced to marry Daymen but you need to know why. You need to know everything."

"Aria, I don't hate you." Bash was moving closer to her now. "I could never hate you."

"Bash…" Arianna started but she was cut off by Bash's lips colliding with hers.

Bash didn't know what came over him. Maybe it was losing Mary, someone he grew to love, right after losing Arianna, the girl that he will always be in love with. Maybe it was because Mary was right, that he was just trying to use her to replace Arianna. Either way, when he saw her enter his room, he knew that he could never be happy without her. She looked so frightened when she said she was going to tell him everything, and when she said that he hated her, he couldn't stand it. He could never, ever, hate her. No matter how angry she made him, how upset they got at one another, he would always love her.

The kiss ended after a few moments, both of them out of breath. Arianna looked up into Bash's eyes, seeing all of his feelings on his face. She figured that her face, her eyes, were telling him the same thing.

"I could never hate you, Aria." Bash whispered. "I'll always love you. No matter what."


	37. Chapter 36

**Another chapter? So quick? What? I was gonna wait to post this one but since it's been so long since I posted so often, I'm gonna go ahead and post this one! And I'm going to go ahead and apologize for what you're about to read. There is some more Bash and Arianna cuteness but it turns and it hurt to write this so much but it had to be done. Please don't hate me! **

Arianna was just standing there, in Bash's arms, looking into his eyes. She had come here to tell him everything. To finally let him know all the secrets she had been hiding. She thought that maybe by keeping everything from him, he had grown to hate her. Obviously, that was not the case.

"I'm sorry about that. I just couldn't stand having you think I hated you." Bash said after Arianna had been silent for a while.

"Please, don't apologize." Arianna whispered.

Bash put his hands on her face, rubbing his thumbs across her cheeks. "Tell me, tell me everything."

Arianna took a shaky breath, summoning all her strength to tell this story again. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Squeezing her eyes shut and biting her lip, she took another breath.

"Here," Bash pulled her to sit in a chair as he sat across from her. "Drink this, it'll help."

Arianna nodded, taking the cup from Bash. She took a swig and realized quickly that it was wine. Over the cup, she quirked an eyebrow at Bash and he merely smirked at her with a cup of his own in his hands. Finishing off what was left, Arianna set the cup back down. She was about to start when Francis barged into the room.

"I am sorry for the way things have gone." Francis said, walking into the room to stand before Bash. "But the outcome is this. You need to leave here. You've reached for the crown and failed to get it. You be seen by many as a threat."

Arianna looked between Bash and Francis, sensing the hostility. Apparently Francis did not care that she was present for this conversation or he simply did not notice in his objective.

"The crown was never in my grasp." Bash stated, putting his cup down. "But I had Mary." Bash looked at Arianna when he said this. She merely nodded, knowing what he meant. "And it calls you."

"I was going to disappear in exile. That's your goal now, if you want to survive." Francis said coldly.

"Francis, no." Arianna gasped. She couldn't believe that Francis was going to send away his brother.

"My guards will take you south of here to ship set for the southern coast of Spain. And from there you shall keep going." Francis stood up and made his way towards the door.

"You needed to vanish because you would've been a displaced king." Bash was standing at this time. "But I'm just a bastard. In time, a very short time, if you'd accepted my presence the nobles would, too, and I'd be safe. If you were so inclined."

Francis moved to stand in front of Bash now. "I'm not so inclined."

Arianna stood up as well. "Francis!"

"Well, there it is. The truth between us at last." Bash said to Francis.

"Make sure what's between us, brother, is distance." Francis turned and made his way towards the door. "If you want to survive."

"Bash, he cannot do this, can he?" Arianna asked in shock.

"He can and he did. He will be the king. I was only staying here as long as they allowed. Now they do not so I have to leave." Bash said, drinking another glass of wine in one gulp.

"But, you cannot leave." Arianna whispered. "You cannot leave me."

Bash sighed. "Oh, Aria. I have to. You will be married to someone else and I cannot stand by and watch that happen. If I was here to witness your wedding, I would make a scene. I couldn't just be there and act as if I was happy with you marrying someone else, someone who isn't me."

"But, I'm not ready to let you go." Arianna had tears in her eyes at this point. "I don't want to let you go."

"I know, love, I know." Bash pulled Arianna into his arms, resting his head on hers. "I don't want to let go of you either, but I have to. If not, I'll be killed."

Arianna sucked in a breath at the sound of that. She always thought that if Bash were to be killed that it would be by her. That her feelings would cause his death by Daymen. Yet, here she stood with him and if he stayed, he would be killed by his own brother.

Arianna shook her head. "I'll go talk to him."

"Aria, there's no need. He made up his mind." Bash told her but it was too late. Arianna was already headed for the door and away from him.

"I'll try to reason with him. I'll be back." Arianna promised.

"You said that last time." Bash whispered.

Arianna stopped in her tracks and looked back. Bash was standing in the middle of the room, looking as broken as she's ever seen him. Quickly, she made her way back to Bash and kissed him with everything she had. At first, he was surprised but soon his response was just as fierce.

"I'll always love you." Arianna told him.

Bash nodded and watched her walk away. Arianna quickly ran down the halls trying to find Francis. It didn't take long to find him, as he was walking rather slowly back to his room.

"Francis!" Arianna called, causing him to turn.

"Aria, it's late." Francis said, knowing what she wanted to talk about.

"Francis, please don't send Bash away." Arianna pleaded.

"Ari." Francis brought his hand up to the bridge of his nose. "I can't stand the thought of him with Mary, and when I see him that's all I think of. I love her more than anything."

"Francis." Arianna put a hand on his arm. "He wasn't in love with Mary. They just loved each other, as two people would when they become that close. Mary chose you. He is your brother. Do you really have to send him away?"

Francis looked at Arianna, seeing the hurt in her eyes. "Ari, I'm sorry. But it's not just about me. It's about you. You are engaged to someone else, yet you and my brother are still just as close. It is killing him, I can see it. And it's killing you. It's for the best. I'm sorry." Francis turned and walked away from her.

Arianna just stood there watching Francis walking away from her. She couldn't believe it. Even though his words had hurt, they were true. Turning around, she made her way back to Bash's room. When she reached it, she was a little surprised to see him asleep, still fully clothed, on his bed. Arianna smiled to herself and quietly went to where he was lying.

Trying her best not to wake him, Arianna pushed a few strands of hair away from him forehead. In his sleep, Bash nuzzled into her hand, trying to get closer to her. Carefully, Arianna sat on the bed next to him. Feeling her weight on the bed, Bash stirred in his sleep, reaching out for her.

"Aria…" he whispered in his sleep.

"I'm here, Bash. I'm right here." Arianna reassured, grabbing his hand in hers.

"Don't leave, stay, please." Bash mumbled in his sleep, squeezing Arianna's hand.

"I'll stay right here. Don't worry." Arianna whispered, taking her other hand and stroking his cheek.

Arianna stayed next to Bash for a long while that night, not knowing when she'd see him again, or if she even would. He was being sent off to live his life somewhere else and soon, she would be sent off back to Hungary to live a life that she did not want. She knew that she would have to go back with Daymen, but she wanted to live in this moment. Live just like they were now. In this moment, she was not a queen and he was not a bastard. She was just Arianna and he was Bash. They loved each other and nothing else mattered.

After a good amount of time had passed of her just laying there with Bash, she decided that she could not stay in this fantasy any longer. She needed to accept her fate and leave. Making sure not wake Bash, she got up from his bed and slowly started her way back to her room, wondering if that was the last time she was going to see Bash again.

The next day, all the girls were gathered in Mary's room to help her prepare for the wedding. In the spirit of new beginnings, Mary had invited Arianna to come help and so she could apologize about everything that happened with Bash.

"Aria, I'm so sorry for everything I put you through." Mary started as the girls were lacing her up.

"Oh, Mary, there is no need to apologize. I understand why you did it, and to be honest, I'm not mad at all. I was more hurt than anything but I do understand." Arianna said, giving Mary a sad smile.

"Thank you. I don't know what I would've done if you were unable to forgive me." Mary explained, returning Arianna's smile with one of her own.

"Now that everyone is friends again let's get down to business." Mary's mother said, going over to a jewelry box. "So we'll do another ceremony for you at Notre Dome so that all of France can celebrate your marriage."

"And what of Queen Catherine?" Mary inquired. "She's been pardoned for adultery?"

Mary's mother laugh. "Yes, it was all to legitimize Bash. Now Henry looks benevolent, forgiving."

Arianna watched as Mary's mother held up earrings to Mary's ears, talking about how her father had given them to her. It made Arianna's heart ache, knowing that when she would be wed, her parents would not be there to see it, she would have nothing to remind her of them on that day. Moving away from Mary and towards the bed, Arianna blinked back the tears that threatened to escape. She could not cry now. Today was to be a happy day, a day where Mary and Francis could finally be together and be happy.

"Greer said you were upset." Lola said to Kenna. "I cam to your room last night to cheer you with hot cocoa but your servant said you were meeting with the king."

"So?" Kenna asked offhandedly, trying not to let her feelings show.

"So late?" Arianna piped in, putting a hand on Kenna's shoulder.

"If you're back with him I think it's a mistake." Lola told Kenna, leaning in to keep quiet.

"Lola," Arianna started, trying to diffuse a fight that was likely to happen.

"I know the chateau you claim to stay at in Angers where you ran into Francis. It burned down last year. I don't know what happened between the two of you but I guess. So please, don't counsel me on mistakes." Kenna revealed, causing Lola to look away with shame on her face.

"Come along girls!" Mary's mother called from across the room. "Be of service to your queen."

The rest of the day was spent helping Mary get ready for her wedding. Arianna was happy to be included in the plans but after everything was said and done, she excused herself to see how the hall was turning out. Once out of the watchful eyes of her friends, she let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. Seeing all this was turning out to be a lot harder for her than she originally thought it was going to be.

xxx

The wedding was beautiful. Mary had looked gorgeous and the way Francis looked at her as she came down the stairs made Arianna's heart swell with joy. She was so happy that Francis and Mary had worked everything out. She had always wanted Francis to be happy and in love and when she saw the look he gave Mary as they were dancing together, she knew that he had found his happiness. This, however, did not stop her eyes from trying to find Bash.

There was no sign of him anywhere, no matter how often Arianna looked. She didn't see him during the ceremony and to be honest, she hadn't seen him since their talk the other night. Sighing, she watched on the sidelines as everyone was dancing around Mary and Francis enjoying the lovely wedding. Arianna knew that soon, everyone would leave this lovely hall and it would be time for the consummation. Thinking about how nervous Mary must be, Arianna did not envy her at all. Having everyone watch the most private moment of your life, it was so invading. Arianna started to feel ill knowing that she would have to go through the same thing soon with Daymen. The thought of Daymen touching her in that way almost made her empty the contents of her stomach right there on the floor but she contained it.

Walking in the opposite direction of all the commotion, Arianna was about to turn a corner when she heard voices, voices that she clearly recognized.

"You missed the wedding." King Henry announced.

"I thought it'd best." Bash answered with no emotion in his voice.

"I've been thinking about what's best for all of us as well." King Henry started but Bash cut him off.

"I'm leaving. You needn't worry." Bash said simply.

"And yet I do. So you won't be leaving us just yet." King Henry told him walking away as his footsteps could be heard getting quieter down the hall.

Bash was heading in the direction Arianna was hiding and she knew that she didn't have time to avoid him now so she might as well deal with whatever was coming. Taking a deep breath, she rounded the corner only to collide into Bash not realizing he was already that close.

"Aria." Bash breathed as he caught her from falling. "Why aren't you at the ceremony?"

"I just…" Arianna started but she couldn't finish her sentence once she looked into Bash's eyes. She knew that she would make up an excuse to why and she was tried of lying to Bash.

"It was too much to handle?" Bash offered, seeing she was having a hard time answering.

Arianna just nodded, biting her lip as she did. Bash didn't make a move to let her go and she wasn't about to force him to. She had thought that last night would be the last time she saw Bash but seeing him fully clothed to head out into the winter, she knew that this was the last time.

"Where did you go last night?" Bash asked breaking the silence that had engulfed them.

Looking around, Arianna moved from his arms to take his hand to lead them to the small alcove that was near them. "I came back when I had got there, you were asleep in your bed. I came over to make you more comfortable and you asked me not to leave so I didn't. I stayed a while but I knew that getting caught in there would be awful so I left before you awoke."

"I'm sorry. I had tried to stay awake but the stress and the drinking I did were not helping that at all." Bash shook his head and looked away from Arianna as he spoke.

"I don't blame you for falling asleep, Bash." Arianna pulled his face back to hers so she could see him clearly. "I just don't want to say goodbye."

Bash quickly pulled her into his arms, crushing her to his chest. "I know. I don't want to say goodbye either but I must."

Arianna felt the tears come to her eyes so quick she couldn't stop them. Burying her head into his chest, Arianna clutched the back of Bash's shirt even tighter. Bash nuzzled his face into Arianna's hair, trying to remember exactly how she smelled.

"You said you'd tell me everything." Bash whispered into her hair. "Please tell me."

Arianna felt a sob come out of her mouth as she shook her head. "There isn't time now, love. I don't want to have our goodbye tainted with that anyway. I just want to remember you as you are now. I want you to remember me as I am now. I don't want to send you off with that horrible story. I'll always love you Sebastian."

Bash pulled away from Arianna slightly and stared into her eyes that had tears spilling from them. He felt one fall down his cheek as he saw the heartbreaking look on her face. Checking the area, he pressed his lips to hers lightly, only meaning it to be a quick kiss but Arianna grabbed the back of his neck, holding his lips to hers and she poured all the love and passion she felt for him into the kiss.

Breaking away, Bash wiped away the few tears that were still on her cheek. "I'll always love you, Arianna. I wish I could've been there for you. Maybe things would be different if I could've just been there for you."

"Shh." Arianna put a finger to his lips. "It's not your fault. You were there when I arrived. You were there for me, Bash. You've always been there for me."

Bash pulled Arianna into his chest once more, kissing the top of her head and she cried. "I'll try and write so you know I'm okay. I'll let you know that I am safe." Bash promised.

"I'd like that." Arianna whispered, unable to make her voice any louder. "Even though you'll be far away and without me, I want you to find happiness. Please try for me?"

"I can't promise I will but I can promise I'll try. I'll try for you." Bash told her.

Arianna squeezed him one last time before letting him go. She looked up at him and tried to smile before she took of to her room. She knew that saying goodbye to Bash was going to be hard but she never imagined that it was going to be that hard. She knew that this was coming for a while but that didn't make it hurt any less. She wasn't sure how long she laid in her bed but it must've been longer than she thought because the sky had darkened immensely. Getting out of bed, Arianna made her way towards the window just in time to see Bash leaving with two guards. She damned her timing to hell and watched as the man she loved left the castle. Leaning against the wall, she slid down to the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks, knowing that she would never see Bash, the man she had loved since she was little, again.


	38. Chapter 37

**I apologize deeply for how long it has taken for this next chapter. I hit a block with where the show had gone and then I had some personal stuff and I am now without Internet. However, I do hope you all enjoy this chapter that you forgive me in the delay. I'm trying to get back to writing this story more often and hopefully the chapters will come quicker! Again, I am sorry for how long this took. Let me know what you think! **

Arianna couldn't believe how long it had been. Two months had come and went since she last saw Bash. Every day still felt like the first day he left. She waited for it to get easier, for time to heal the hole he left but it never came. So much had happened since Bash had left and there were days where she hoped a letter would come but it never did. She had written tons to him, telling him all that happened but she never sent there. She didn't know where she would send them.

Arianna had finally had her coronation and was the Queen of Hungary but somehow, she was able to convince her grandmother to let her go back to France. She couldn't imagine being anywhere else and she still hoped that Bash would return or at least send a letter. Agreeing, her grandmother would now run Hungary while Arianna was in France. Once she was wed to Daymen, they would both return and take over. Daymen, he had come back briefly but then left again per his father's wishes. Blazhe on the other hand stayed behind, becoming the official negotiator with France or something. Arianna couldn't remember exactly what he had become but she knew he had other motives for staying in France.

Blazhe had been determined to figure out a way to get Arianna out of her marriage and he could do that better in France where his father and brother would not be able to see what he was really doing. Daymen was thrilled that he didn't need to be around Arianna to get her country and told Blazhe that he needed him to watch over Arianna and make sure she didn't get out of line. Blazhe easily fooled his brother, agreeing to his plan. He did agree to keep an eye on Arianna but for a different reason. After seeing how Bash's absence affected Arianna, Blazhe wanted to make sure she would be okay. Especially with her wedding getting closer and closer.

Arianna had postponed the wedding due to getting a letter from Vienna about her brother. She hadn't heard anything in a long time and she was worried that the nurses there were too afraid to tell her the bad news. When she read the letter, it was the opposite. The nurses hadn't let him write because he was fighting infection after infection but he kept defeating it and his health was improving quickly. She saw an opportunity and quickly leapt at it. Convincing her grandmother to postpone the wedding was hard but after hearing about Nikola's improving health, Emese agreed to waiting on having the wedding until Arianna's brother could be there.

Trying to pull herself out of all these thoughts and getting out of bed, Arianna went to get ready for the day as for today was the day that Mary and Francis were returning from their honeymoon and there were others that were arriving at the castle as well. She was excited that Mary was returning, missing her company deeply, but she was still a little upset that Francis had banished Bash. Hopefully, she could talk to him and try to ease her resentment towards him.

Looking over her appearance once more, Arianna made her way down to the throne room to greet the guests staying in the castle. Walking out of her room, she spotted Blazhe waiting for her by her door.

"Good morning, Blazhe." Arianna greeted with a smile.

"Morning, Aria." Blazhe nodded his head in respect to her. "Are you excited that Mary and Francis are returning?"

Arianna nodded, looping her arm with Blazhe's. "I am. I hope that their honeymoon went well. Everyone will be expecting her to have children very soon."

Blazhe hummed in response, thinking about how the same would be happening for Arianna soon. Arianna turned her head to look at Blazhe who was now lost in thought. She was about to ask what was on his mind until she realized that they had arrived at the throne room. Quickly making her way over to the girls, Arianna stood up straight and tried to listen to the king but she didn't really hear the words coming from Henry's mouth. Arianna did notice the look that the archduke gave Kenna and the look Henry gave her after seeing him look. Quirking an eyebrow, Arianna glanced at Kenna only to see that she had ben completely oblivious to all of this.

Soon, everyone in the throne room started to disperse and Arianna watched as King Henry went over to speak to Kenna. They seemed to be talking about something very private; their voices quiet yet their demeanor showed that it was nothing more than a king talking to one of his subjects. Arianna, however, knew better than to believe that's all it was.

Soon, the horns were sounding, announcing the arrival of Francis and Mary. Following the girls, Arianna went out into the hall to great the two newlyweds. With a smile on her face, the girls greeted Mary.

"I've missed you all!" Mary announced as she was taking her coat off.

"You both look happy." Arianna said with a smile, hugging the two.

"We were." Mary responding, Francis wrapping an arm around her. "We are. I'm sure we'll be just as happy here as we were in Paris. And Annette and every castle from here to the Noir Valley. Oh! Which reminds me, I've found a wonderful suitor for you Greer. And there's one in Paris who's very keen to meet you, Lola."

Arianna watched as Kenna gave Lola a look while Lola looked to Francis for a brief second. No one else noticed anything out of the ordinary but none of the others knew what Kenna and Arianna knew.

"Wonderful." Lola replied with a small smile.

"Mary!" Catherine announced as she burst between the girls. "Oh how I've missed you!" She came and kissed Mary on her cheeks, all the girls shocked by the amount of affection that Catherine was showing Mary.

She reached for Francis and kissed his cheek as well. "A word."

Francis looked to Mary who only smiled. "And so the politics and backstabbing begin." She said, following the girls away from Francis.

Arianna stayed in her spot, turning her head ever so slightly to the left to hear what Catherine had to tell Francis. Standing near the wall and keeping her back to the two, she hoped that they wouldn't see what she was doing.

"You must tell me all about your travels! Later. First," Catherine paused; looking to make sure Mary and the girls were out of earshot. "You need to know that your bastard brother didn't make it to Spain."

"What do you mean?" Francis asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

Arianna was holding her breath, unable to believe what she was hearing. Could Bash still be here?

Francis lowered his voice a little before continuing. "I sent those guards with him myself. They were supposed to accompany him to a ship and see him safely on board."

"The bodies of those men you sent were found by the side of the road, not long after you left for your honeymoon." Catherine told him.

"Bash's body was not found?" Francis asked. Arianna was trying her best not to let her mind wander with all this information as she listened in.

"Either he killed the guards himself, or the whole party was attacked and he managed to escape." Catherine said, letting her voice say she believed the first rather than the latter.

"Are they looking for him?" Francis sighed, obviously upset about the situation.

"Of course." Catherine reassured. "Henry has his men looking everywhere. Aren't you glad you have a mother who pays attention to such things?"

Seeing that the conversation was over, Arianna quickly walked down the hall, hoping that Catherine and Francis would not see her and put two and two together. As she walked, she tried to calm her breathing but she couldn't. Bash was still here, in France. He never left. Even though this information brought her a small amount of joy, she wanted to know what happened. More than anything, she wanted to know why Bash hadn't tried to contact her.

Sighing, Arianna decided to go join the girls, hoping that they would take her mind off of all of this. Once at Mary's door, Arianna tapped her knuckles of the wood and waited until she heard Mary's voice tell her to come in.

"Arianna! Where did you get? We all thought you were right behind us." Mary said once Arianna was in the room.

"Oh I was just letting you have some time alone with the girls." Arianna said with a smile, hoping that it didn't look as forced as it felt. "Well don't you all look lovely!"

Greer smiled and turned in her new dress. "It fits perfectly. Thank you."

"I love mine." Kenna said, pulling out the skirt a little. "How utterly virginal."

"And utterly ironic." Greer added.

Arianna and Mary laughed at this, Arianna now sitting next to Mary. Lola appeared from behind them, a sad look on her face.

"Oh you're not wearing your gown, Lola." Mary pointed out with a frown.

"Uhh. It's incredibly lovely but I'm afraid it's a bit snug." Lola admitted making a good effort to keep her stomach covered more than usual.

"Oh don't worry. We'll have the seamstresses work on it." Mary reassured her.

"So, Mary, tell us." Greer piped up suddenly. "Are you pregnant?"

"Greer." Arianna breathed.

"It's been almost two months, you know everyone's wondering." Greer was right there; everyone would be wondering when the new couple would be popping out heirs.

Arianna watched as Mary struggle to get her words out as Mary held out a box for Greer and Arianna. Each of them took a treat as Mary finally got the words out. "Two months isn't very long."

Getting up, Mary offered a piece to Lola, who just shook her head with a very apprehensive look. "I thought you loved marzipan?" Mary asked confused.

Lola tried to smile and she reached for one, carefully taking the smallest bite. As soon the food touched her tongue, she looked like she was going to vomit all over the room.

"Lola, are you alright?" Mary asked as she rubbed Lola's arm.

"Perfectly fine. Thanks." Arianna could tell that Lola tried to make her voice sound strong but the look on her face was giving her away.

Arianna could tell that Mary believed Lola but she wondered how long Lola could up this charade with Mary. Sighing and trying to put that thought in the back of her head, Arianna spent the rest of the afternoon with the girls, enjoying their company and hearing all about the places Mary had visited on her honeymoon. No matter how much Arianna tried though, her mind kept wondering back to Bash and what she heard Catherine tell Francis. The only thing that she wished was that wherever he was, he was safe.


	39. Chapter 38

**I've been trying to write quickly so that way I get to somewhere with internet I can upload a new chapter! So here is the next one! I hope you all enjoy it and I'm thankful that all of you are still reading. You are great. Let me know what you think! **

That night, Arianna was walking thee castle halls, trying to clear her mind when she saw Kenna making her way to Lola's room. Arianna hadn't had a chance to talk to Lola yet and she wondering if Kenna was about to do that. Quickening her pace, Arianna caught up to Kenna, tapping her on the arm to get her attention. Kenna turned, her face turning white and a hand going over her heart.

"Arianna!" Lola breathed out. "You frightened me."

Arianna laughed a little. "I'm sorry, Kenna. I didn't mean to. Are you heading to Lola's room?"

"Yes." Kenna looked around to make sure no one could hear them. "I think it's time we talk about her little trip."

Arianna nodded. "I know what's going on and I don't know if she does but she needs to confront it. May I join you?"

"I think that will help. Let's go." Kenna replied.

Knocking on Lola's door, Arianna and Kenna waited for her to answer. Biting her lip, Arianna saw Lola open the door surprised to see both of them standing there. The two quickly walked into Lola's room before Lola could say they couldn't come in.

"Lola, I think we need to talk about your liaison with Francis in Paris." Kenna said when she walked in.

"Kenna, Aria, I can't do this right now." Lola said, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"Because you're tired. You've been tired a lot. You're pale, you're not eating and your new gown doesn't fit. You acted so strangely when you returned with Francis. You're pregnant." Arianna had stated everything, allowing Lola no room to try and talk her way out of this.

Lola quickly closed the door and looked at Arianna with wide eyes.

"Fast work. Well done." Kenna congratulated while Arianna was staring at her incredulously. "There's no better way for a royal mistress to secure her place. Look at Diane! If I could of managed it, but the king is well versed in avoiding such issues."

Lola looked like she was about to cry and Arianna still didn't know what to say about everything that came out of Kenna's mouth. "Don't congratulate me! I'm not Francis's mistress." Lola told her. "It was one night. A moment of comfort. Do you have any idea how this will shame my family in Scotland? And what will it do to Mary?"

"We understand that you're worried. Mary won't take it well, at first. But think, in time she'll recover." Arianna tried to assure her.

"Yes!' Kenna agreed. "And Francis will be a loving father. He'll want the child to grow up here and he'll probably let you raise it."

"Let me?" Lola questioned shocked. "I'm the child's mother."

"Yes, and I'm sure that you'll play some part as long as you don't anger Mary and you keep Francis's interest. Regardless, Lola your position at French Court is assured for life."

Arianna couldn't believe what Kenna was saying. Yes, part of it was true, Arianna had to admit that but she still wished that Kenna would be a little more understanding about how Lola was feeling.

"For life? But as what?" Lola had tears in her eyes and she started shaking her head. "I can't do this."

"What are you saying?" Arianna whispered, scared to know the answer.

"There are people who help women who don't want babies." Lola started. "Everyone knows they exist, I just don't know any. Did you, have you ever?"

"Ever end a pregnancy?" Kenna finished. "No. The king is well stocked to avoid such issues."

"Well stocked with?" Lola questioned. Arianna put a hand to her head, wishing that she wasn't here for this conversation.

"He covers his, it," Kenna started before shaking her head. "If you don't know you shouldn't be having sex!'

Arianna and Lola stared at Kenna for a moment before she gave in. "Alright, uh, one of the servants, a girl who washes my things, she isn't married but she seemed to be with child a few months ago. She disappeared for a few days and when came back she seemed thinner, less troubled."

"Who is she?" Arianna asked aloud, intrigued by this. Lola looked at her and Arianna's cheeks flushed a little. "Sorry."

"Tell me, please." Lola begged.

Kenna sighed before finally telling Lola. Arianna was still in shock that Lola wanted to do this. She couldn't imagine ending a pregnancy, no matter what the circumstances but she did understand where Lola was coming from. Standing up abruptly, Arianna excused herself from the rest of the conversation.

Once outside of Lola's room, Arianna let out a sigh; not enjoying that Lola was keeping this from Mary. She knew why Lola was doing it but she had a feeling that Mary would understand, even if it made her upset. That's when she realized that she was also keeping something from Mary by not telling her about Bash. She knew that Mary cared for Bash and she should have told Mary that he was alive the moment she knew but a part of her was still worried that Mary cared more Bash than she let on. What was worse was that she thought Bash felt more for Mary than he let out as well.

Changing her course, Arianna made her way to Mary's room to tell her about Bash. Even though she was worried about their feelings for one another, she could not handle any more secrets between them. She was already hiding one of her own from everyone, and now Lola's. She couldn't handle adding to that list.

Arriving at Mary's door, Arianna took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was gong to tell her. Lifting her fist, Arianna was about to knock when she heard voices coming from inside of Mary's room. One she thought she would never hear again. Lowering her fist, she looked around before putting her ear up to the door. Hearing Bash's voice again was causing Arianna's heart to double in speed. Straining her ears, Arianna couldn't make out what they were saying but she could tell that they were having a heated discussion.

Quickly straightening up, Arianna decided that if Bash didn't want to see her, she didn't want to see him. Without another look back, Arianna all but ran to her room to avoid being seen. Besides a few odd looks she got along the way, Arianna made it back to her room without anyone stopping her. Once she was behind the door, Arianna fell to the floor and let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Two months, that's how long it had been since she had seen or heard Bash. She thought that in that two months, she had gotten a little better. Granted, it hadn't been much better, but any amount of progress was good. After hearing Bash's voice, Arianna realized how much she truly missed him. Feeling the tears in her eyes, she tried to fight them when there was a knock at the door. She was about to stand up and answer it when the person who knocked pushed the door open, knocking her over in the process. Arianna was about to stand up and unleash all her anger at the person until she saw whom it was.

"Bash?" Arianna whispered, not really sure she could believe that he was standing in front of her.

"Aria." Bash breathed out before wrapping his arms around her.

Arianna froze for a moment before she wrapped her arms around Bash's neck, breathing in Bash's scent.

"I had to see you." Bash whispered in her ear. "Once I found out you were still here, I didn't care if I was to get caught. I needed to see you."

"I've missed you so much." Arianna pulled away from Bash just enough to smack him in the arm. "I was so worried about you! Never do that again!"

Bash was a little shocked and amused at the way Arianna was acting. Smiling, he brushed a piece of hair behind her ear before resting his hand on her cheek. "I'm sorry I made you worry, love. I will never do that again."

"Good." Arianna huffed, trying to hold onto her anger but when she looked into his eyes, she knew there was no point. "What happened? I thought you were leaving?"

Bash sighed, pulling his hand away from her face to run it through his hair. "The guards, they tried to kill me. Under Francis's order I'm sure."

"Bash." Arianna started. "Francis wouldn't have you killed."

"Aria, you don't know that for sure. He could've if he wanted to. I don't want to talk about that right now though. I just want to be with you. I was so worried that you would've gone back to Hungary already married by now."

Arianna bit her lip. "My grandmother let me postpone it because Nik is getting better and I wanted him to attend. Honestly, it was just an excuse to delay my impending doom."

Bash closed his eyes, trying not to think about Arianna getting married to someone else. He had expected that after two months, she would've been married and left France by now. He hoped she would still be here but he never thought she really would be. Now that she was here in front of him, standing in his arms, he couldn't imagine letting her ago. He had let her go too many times to do it again.

"I don't want to let you go again." Bash whispered, pulling on her neck so he could rest his forehead on hers.

"I don't want you to either." Arianna felt the tears coming and tried her best to fight them off. She didn't want to cry right now. She just wanted to be here with Bash.

Bash took a deep breath to try and steady himself before he addressed the thought that had been plaguing his mind ever since he left. "Aria, will you tell me what happened that night?"

Bash felt Arianna's body go stiff in his arms, her eyes wide as they stared into his. He knew that this was a tough subject for her but she had promised that she was going to tell him but she never did. He had to know now; he had to know what happened. He needed to know.

"Bash…" Arianna whispered, terrified of revealing all of this.

"No, Aria." Bash cut her off. "No more excuses. I want to know everything."

Aria pulled away from Bash and turned her back to him, covering her mouth as she tried to form the words. Bash stayed where he was and watched Arianna carefully. He was worried that maybe he pushed too far but he didn't care at this point. He needed to know what she was hiding; he needed to know what took the life out of her. He needed to know everything. Arianna knew that but it still terrified her.

Taking a deep breath, she turned back to face him. "Sit down, Bash."

Bash barely heard the words come off her lips but he did as she wanted, keeping an eye on her the whole way. Arianna knelt down in front of him, her dress flowing out all around her. He could see her hands shaking but her face was a mask. She took another deep breath before she spoke again.

"Okay." Arianna whispered. "I'll tell you everything. You just have to promise something."

Bash nodded, not caring what it was at that point. "You cannot let anyone know what I've told you. Not one person can know this, do you understand?"

"But—"

"No." Arianna cut Bash off. "No one can know. Also, you cannot do anything with information. No revenge seeking plots, nothing. You will go on and act like I never told you this. If you cannot agree to this, you cannot know."

Bash exhaled loudly, running a hand through his hair. "Fine. I promise that no one will know and I won't do anything once I know." He hated promising this but if this was the only way she would tell him, he had to.

"Good." Arianna said, her eyes falling to the floor. "The night my parents died, it wasn't supposed to be just my parents and it wasn't an accident."

"It was a fire, Aria." Bash interrupted. "How is that not an accident?"

Arianna didn't look up from the ground when she spoke. "It was meant for me, Bash. The fire was meant to kill everyone, but my parents didn't survive like I did."

"Aria, it's not your fault." Bash said, not understand where any of this was coming from. "It was a fire."

"No!" Arianna was getting frustrated that he wasn't paying attention. "Daymen started the fire to kill me."

"What?" Bash breathed out.


	40. Chapter 39

**Oh my gosh! What's this? An update! I know, I know. It's been too long. I'm so sorry about how long it's taken to get this chapter out, and I apologize for the slightly weird ending but I wash unsure of how to end it and I knew that you all were dying to read it so here it is! I've been without internet for far too long and I hit a block with this story but now I'm hoping that I've gotten over that! Please let me know what you think! Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long.(: Enjoy all. **

"Daymen wanted me dead because I wouldn't marry him." Arianna confessed.

Bash just stared at her, eyes wide, unable to process this information. Arianna took this opportunity to tell him everything. She explained it all, not missing any little detail. Not once did she look at him as she spoke. She knew the look he had on his face and she couldn't handle seeing it right now. After a few moments of silence, Arianna chanced a glance up at Bash, hoping that he wouldn't think differently of her for hiding all of this. Bash had both of his hands balled into fists, eyes closed and his mouth in hard line.

"Bash?" Arianna whispered, reaching a hand out to touch his.

When her hand touched his, Bash's eyes shot open and he looked like he was about to explode. Arianna quickly withdrew her fingers, unsure of what was going to happen. Abruptly, Bash shot up and started to pace around the room. He was mumbling to himself, trying to wrap his mind around everything that Arianna had told him. It all makes sense to him now. He had always wondered why Arianna didn't try to get out of the marriage, why she just went along with it, why she wasn't fighting to be with him, and now he knew. She was terrified of this man, this Daymen.

"I have to do something." Bash muttered, loud enough for Arianna to hear.

"Bash, no! You promised." Arianna cried, moving from her spot on the ground to stand in front of him. "You cannot let anyone know that you know."

"Aria…" Bash started.

"No." Arianna said sternly. "You promised. This is why I didn't want to tell you. I've been worried about your safety ever since I arrived. If Daymen knew that I left him to be with you, he wouldn't hesitate to have you killed. I told him I didn't want to marry him and he killed my parents, almost killed my brother, and tried to kill me. I can't have someone else dead because of me!" Arianna was on the verge of hysterics. "I can't take it if something happened to you because of me."

Bash quickly crossed the distance between them, pulling Arianna into his arms. She was shaking and tears were falling down her cheeks and her arms immediately wrapped around Bash. Whispering into her hair, Bash tried to calm Arianna down. After a few moments of this, her shaking stopped and her crying had become much quieter.

"I won't do anything." Bash admitted.

"Really?" Arianna asked quietly into Bash's shoulder.

"For you, I would do anything. So yes, I won't do anything. I won't like it though." Bash heard Arianna chuckle at his last statement.

"Thank you." Arianna breathed out.

"Who else knows?" Bash asked as he rested his head atop of Arianna's.

"Blazhe is the only other person. I told him recently but only because he guessed at it. He's been trying to find a way to get rid of this marriage or get his brother to admit to what he did." Arianna confessed.

Bash stayed quiet as he processed this, thinking that he needed to go and speak to Blazhe in the near future to see if there was anything he could do to help. As he looked down at the girl in his arms, he couldn't think about leaving her again. He had to say goodbye one too many times now and learning this, he was going to stop her marriage and make her his.

"I don't think he's had luck though," Arianna continued, "He hasn't mentioned anything about it lately so I wonder if he's given up on the whole thing."

"I doubt that, Aria. I see how much he cares for you. Just don't give up hope." Bash told her, leaning back to look into her eyes. "Now, I have to go. I've already been out for too long. If you need me, put a light in your window and I'll meet you in the woods. Our spot."

Bash leaned down and kissed Arianna quickly, but passionately, before disappearing out her door. Smiling to herself, it was hard to believe that even after everything that's happened, Bash was still here and still wanting to be with her. She was so sure that after he found out, he wouldn't want her anymore out of fear of being killed like her family was. She should've known better, known that Bash was different.

Sighing in contentment for first time in months, Arianna went and changed for bed, hoping that Bash would stay safe and that he was right about Blazhe. Pulling the blankets of her bed back, Arianna crawled into bed remembering what Bash had said about not giving up hope. She had to hope that somehow, Blazhe would help save her from this life. If not, then it would surely kill her.

Xxx

The next morning, Arianna had gotten ready quickly and was now walking with Kenna and Mary to Lola's room so the four of them could arrive in the throne room together. Arianna was shocked to find out that the archduke's sister had thrown herself from a window, committing suicide. In truth, that thought had crossed Arianna's mind but she never actually thought she could go through with it. Shaking her head, as if the motion would expel the thoughts from it, she turned to Kenna who had just finished explaining everything.

"Could she had had worse timing? He was just about to propose to me." Kenna sighed.

"Kenna!" Arianna scolded. "That is no way to speak of the dead. I see your point but still. You never know, the archduke may ask now that he realized how quickly loved ones can be taken from us."

Kenna nodded as the three of them arrived at Lola's door. As the servant let them in, she looked confused by their presence. "I'm sorry, Your Grace, but Lady Lola is not here."

"At this hour?" Mary questioned utterly shocked. "We're supposed to meet the king and queen in the throne room to pay our respects to the archduke in his bereavement."

"She hurried out early." The servant replied. "She was dressed for riding but wouldn't say where she was going."

"Oh no." Kenna breathed out as Arianna let out an audible gasp.

"Do you know where Lola is?" Mary asked, her authority coming out.

Arianna stepped back a few steps, watching and Kenna reluctantly told Mary where she thought Lola had gone, but still leaving out some of the more important details.

"Did you know?" Mary turned to Arianna now, waiting for an answer.

Nodding slowly, Arianna bowed her head, focusing on the ground. "I'm sorry, Mary. I wanted to tell you but it was not my secret to tell. I've felt horrible keeping this from you but I knew if I told you, I would betray Lola. It was such a difficult position."

"I must go stop her." Mary stated, quickly exiting the room, leaving both Kenna and Arianna worried about the outcome of this.

"I hope this turns out better than I how I expect it shall." Arianna stated quietly.

"I agree." Kenna nodded, both of them making their way out of Lola's room.

On the walk to the throne room, the two girls stayed quiet the entire time. Both of them lost in their thoughts about what all was happening. Arianna almost forgot how dramatic French court was while Mary and Francis were away. When the two arrived in the throne room, Arianna tuned out the majority of what was happening, trying her best to look in mourning for the archduke but her mind kept on wandering back to Bash. She had to keep hoping for him.

"The looks of a Greek God and the might of a lion?" Arianna heard, snapping her out of her thoughts. "She didn't write this."

"I know it's hard to think someone in your family is capable of such passion." Catherine spoke, trying to make her statement sound like it was out of remorse.

"What she was incapable of was writing. She never learned. The note is a forgery!" the archduke exclaimed causing Arianna's eyes to become wide. "I fear my dear sister was a victim of foul play. Likely by someone inside the castle! If that is the case, Bohemia will have no choice but…"

"You're right!" Catherine cut off. "It's forged and I know who's responsible. The duchesses lover."

"She had a lover?" Arianna watched as Kenna reached a hand forward to rest it on the archduke's arm, most likely a ploy to try and seem consoling in hopes to get his proposal, as he spoke.

"I don't think we need to sully the lady's memory with tawdry details." Henry said quickly.

"Henry." Catherine said to him. "Our dear friend deserves an honest account of what happened. Last night, I happened to walk in on the duchess while she was entwined in the throws of passion with a man she barely just met."

"My sister?" the archduke breathed out.

"I was shocked, I assure you." Catherine explained with a little more emotion than normal. "But I had no intention of gossiping about her indiscretion. As my husband will attest, I'm not a judgmental person. Henry?"

"She's really not." Came Henry's reply with a blank look on his face.

"But when news of Cecilia's suicide erupted, I was immediately suspicious of this lover and I had him questioned under torture until he revealed to me the actual course of events." Catherine continued.

Arianna and Kenna shared a confused look, both of them not sure where this was going. Arianna held a hand over her mouth, trying to hide the suspicions she had of how much truth there was to Catherine's story.

"And those were?" the archduke asked.

"Well," Catherine started, having a pained look on her face that Arianna just wasn't really buying, "filled with remorse, Cecilia, the chaste, pious royal that she was, threw herself out of the window, afraid of the shame that this moment of weakness would bring to her family."

"Oh, my dear poor Cecilia." The archduke cried.

"And her lover, not wanting to further your family's anguish, wrote the note to protect their secret. Making it appear that your sister's pain was due to a much more palatable unrequited love." Catherine finished, stepping forward to show her mourning.

"Unrequited? This note mentions sexual prowess!" he exclaimed, getting angry at the situation.

"I think that was just wishful thinking on the part of the writer. Right, Henry?" Catherine turned towards Henry who just hummed in agreement.

"So, her lover wrote the note in an effort to protect her honor?" the archduke questioned.

"Ill-advised but gallant." Catherine responded.

"I want to see this lover." The archduke said.

Catherine nodded and her and King Henry led the archduke out of the throne room, leaving everyone that had come to pay their respects in shock. Arianna moved over to the window and stared out at the snow covered grounds. Even though she told Bash she would keep hope, Arianna couldn't help but think about how soon she wouldn't be staring out at France anymore. Soon, she would be in Hungary and she would be staring at her own grounds, her country. Sighing, she realized how much this thought frightened her, how much she did not want to be queen. As she shook her head, she let her thoughts be voiced in the quiet room.

"Long live the queen, I hope."


End file.
